Prometheus Unbound
by Stephen Ratliff
Summary: Draco Malfoy's entire world is about to be turned upside down. If he hadn't stepped into Harry Potter's compartment to insult Hermione and her condition, he might never had found out about his father's first love.
1. To suffer woes

**Prometheus Unbound**

_**Author's Note:**__ The following work occurs in the same universe as _Ritually Yours_. It starts shortly midway through the "End of December" chapter of that work. I have decided to start releasing this work, even though it is not yet complete due to significant references to what I'm doing in this story being made in upcoming chapters of _Summer Rituals_. This story is a Malfoy redemption story. You have been warned. _

* * *

To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite

To forgive wrongs darker than death or night

To defy Power, which seems omnipotent

To love, and bear, to hope till Hope creates

From its own wreak the thing it contemplates

Neither to change, nor falter, nor repent

This like thy glory, Titan, is to be

Good, great, and joyous, beautiful and free

This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory

– from _Prometheus Unbound _by Percy Bysshe Shelley

* * *

**Prologue**

The compartment door slammed behind Professor Severus Snape, and Draco Malfoy found himself practically thrown into a seat. Professor Snape was the one professor that he knew better than to invoke his father's name with. The last time he'd done it, he'd ended up scrubbing the entire Potion's Classroom at Hogwarts, and he'd only been eight. So he sat down, straight as possible and looked right into the furious expression on his Head of House's face.

"Mr. Malfoy, I had hoped that by now you knew better than to attempt to rile Miss Granger and Mr. Potter," his godfather said. "If nothing else, Miss Granger's morning eruptions should have done so. Apparently, though, since you've arrived at Hogwarts, all common sense has left you."

Draco knew it was coming. The glare seemed to be delving into his very soul.

"I am well aware that your father suggested that you ingrain yourself with Mr. Potter. It took you all of how long to end that? Didn't even make it to sorting. You had to insult Mr. Potter's first friend. After that, you most likely cost Slytherin him. You know what Mr. Potter was chanting in his mind when he was sorted? Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin. He could have been great in our house, instead, you pushed him off to Gryffindor.

"We would have gained the one real counterbalance to the Dark Lord's influence, and you were too immature to hold your tongue about Mr. Weasley and his family. You know what Potter thinks you are? A bigoted bully, and I have to agree with him. I hated his father for being one of those, and you are not going to remain one, if I have anything to say about it.

"You seem to think that your father's wealth and heritage is enough to make everything go your way. It is not. If it was, you would not exist as you are and Miss Price would be Miss Malfoy."

Draco felt his mouth opening. The idea that he wouldn't exist and Victoria would be a Malfoy. "That can't be right!"

"I assure you it is," Professor Snape said in that flat delivery that he often gave facts in.

Draco shook his head. It could not be.

Professor Snape sat down across from Draco. "I think it is time that someone told you of the price that Lucius Malfoy paid for falling in love and thus defying his father.

"As your grandfather has been in seclusion since you were not yet a year old, I doubt you have any memories of him. It is suffice to say that he is a man who always got his way, in the end. Only death stopped him. He had determined that your father would be marrying a Black, in particular, Narcissa Black, a girl two years behind him in Slytherin. Your father was not exactly pleased with this plan, and he believed that he could get out of it.

"In his fifth year, Lucius fell in love with Erlene Prince. Erlene wasn't the most powerful of witches, nor was she the most well connected. Being a second cousin of mine, normally I would have known more of her, but the Princes have a habit of throwing less powerful witches out into the muggle world at the slightest of offense. My own mother was thrown out for kissing a muggleborn on a dare.

"To Lucius, Erlene was his one true love, though I don't think it was love at first sight on his part. I understand that they first got together studying for Ancient Runes. Their first kiss was in the on the Quidditch Pitch, after Erlene held Gryffindor scoreless and your father caught the snitch in her hair. They were rather well suited to each other, and the only one who was surprised that she was his Yule Ball date was your grandfather.

"Your grandfather assumed that it was brief fling, and such flings are often encouraged. However, the relationship continued, and deepened. They were rarely apart, but neither father seemed to be in favor of the relationship. That did not stop them. There is a rumor that the summer between their sixth and seventh year, they spent several nights together above her uncle's shop in Knockturn Alley. Going into their seventh year, your grandfather informed your father that the day after he returned from Hogwarts for the last time, he would be wed to your mother.

"Now, your father was Head Boy, and Erlene had replaced Andromeda Black when she was discovered to be pregnant in her fifth year, just in time to ruin marriage plans. It was fortunate for your Aunt Andromeda that Ted Tonks was the son of a rather wealthy barrister in the muggle world. As his attempts at convincing his father to let him marry Erlene began to make clear that his father was not going to budge, that example, apparently suggested by your own mother, became the only way they could see to stay together.

"Your mother was rather close to Erlene, especially after Andromeda was thrown out of the family. Narcissa was the other fifth year prefect to me that year, and got a long with pretty much all the other prefects, even Remus Lupin and Lily Potter in Gryffindor. It was during those prefect meetings that your father promised to sponsor me though my Potions Mastery.

"Erlene wasn't pregnant at the end of the year, so they ran away the day before Hogwarts let out. For six months, they managed to hid away from your grandfather and her father, who disowned her for interfering with a pureblood marriage contract two days after she failed to return from Hogwarts. They were caught in February, and I don't think Lucius knew he'd finally been successful.

"Your grandfather forced your father to take an unbreakable vow to never contact Erlene again, and to marry Narcissa. He had no choice. He didn't even know that he had a daughter by Erlene until she started Hogwarts, and Victoria doesn't know he's her father, though she does know that she's not Fenton Price's child."

Draco had met Victoria Price in the Common Room. She was an outcast in Slytherin, but once she'd helped him with a particularly hard assignment in Herbology. He hadn't asked, but she had found his mistake. He wasn't quite sure that she didn't know that she was his half sister, now that he started to think about his encounters with her. It was not uncommon for Victoria to take a seat next to him, and a couple times in the Library she'd dropped just the book he needed next to him.

He'd pushed her away when she started really showing, and now, he felt really guilty about that. If his Godfather was right, he'd shunned his own family. His mother had always told him you should always be with your family, when you could. She often was hugging him when she said that.

"What happened to Victoria?" Draco asked. He felt he needed to know. He had to know, so he could do something.

"I can not tell you everything I know," Snape said. "It is up to Miss Price to decide what to tell you. Fortunately, it seems that Miss Price has told me that she would not mind if you and your father, especially your father, knew that her step-father was responsible for her condition." Snape smiled, suddenly. "She asked me if I still had my Death Eater robes, once I assured her that she was not returning to that house as long as it was in my power."

There was a long silence in the compartment after that statement. Draco knew his father and godfather had both been Death Eaters. He didn't know all of what that meant, but he knew that Death Eaters had been feared, and terrorized many. He imagined that Death Eaters showing up on anyone's doorstep would not be a pleasant event. Somehow he could not oppose his half sister's step-father receiving such a visit.

The trolley stopped by, ending the silence as Snape purchased a couple chocolate frogs and handed one to Draco. "Thank you," Draco said. "Can I talk to Victoria?"

"I think it best if you write her, for now," Snape said. "She will be spending this break telling her story to the people in the muggle world who could take her away from her step-father."


	2. Wrongs Darker than Death

_**Author's Note**__: It looks like though I didn't have anything ready to post last week due to a problem I discovered with a scene in _Ginger Snap_, this week is going to be a bounty of posts. Some have asked some questions about this story. It has long been in production. Originally, I considered making it part of _Ritually Yours_, but on due consideration determined that it is actually a parallel story to that, and would have really messed up that story. I am not expecting it to be any longer than _Ritually Yours_, but I've been wrong before. _

_**Warning**: This chapter contains references to child sexual abuse. While no actual description of acts occurs, you should be aware that it's coming.  
_

**Chapter One**

Draco was surprised that his father met him at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He'd expected his mother. He did not immediately approach his father. His father was standing near the edge of the platform, almost concealed by a column, and appeared to be deep in thought. Draco knew the particular pose and look well. It was not a good thing to interrupt.

So Draco looked around the platform. Professor Snape was heading over towards McGonagall and Potter . . . and Victoria. Professor Snape had never lied to him, but Draco wasn't yet quite sure that he had told him the whole story. In fact, Draco was sure that there was more to the story. He casually waved to a few of his fellow Slytherins, as he watched the ebb and flow of the platform.

It looked like Granger was being met by her parents. She got a big hug from her mother. Draco missed getting his mother's hugs. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but somehow, looking at Granger enveloped by her mother and now father, he longed for it again. He found his gaze moving from the Grangers, across the platform, to his father again.

His father had stepped forward a bit, and now stepped back again. He was looking right at Victoria. Draco saw an unexpected expression on his father's face, that of longing. With great effort, his father brought his expression back under control, but Draco had seen it.

Draco was almost certain now. Victoria Price, the third year girl due to have a baby in the Spring, was his half-sister like Professor Snape said. He had to find a way to confirm it, though, confirm the situation which his father and half-sister were in.

He waited until Victoria left the platform before walking up to his father. "Hello Father," Draco said. He wanted to say more, but this public, and he had to be the perfect pureblood son in public.

"Draco," his father nodded. "We shall be taking the Wyvern home, today."

Draco loved to ride in the Wyvern. The Wyvern had been his great-grandfather's horseless carriage. It was sleek, painted a green so deep it was almost black. To hear his father tell it, the car had been the last of his great-grandfather's pride and joys, only residing in the Malfoy carriage house during the last three years in of his great-grandfather's life. The best thing about the horseless carriage to Draco's mind though, was that his great-grandfather had modified it so it could fly, and got a permit to make it legal, way back in 1948.

"Let's fly," Draco said, with a big smile.

"Let's," his father said, tossing his cane up in the air and catching it. It didn't take long for them to enter the car park that the Ministry maintained below King's Cross station. Nor did it take long for Draco's father to secure his trunk in the boot. The horseless carriage exited via the owl portal.

Draco watched as London sped by under the horseless carriage. His father was keeping them rather low. Father had often told him that it was best not to keep one's head in the clouds, as it was very hard to see. As London spread out, slowly reaching out into the countryside, Draco finally figured out the one question that he could ask to confirm Professor Snape's story. "Father, is it true that Grandfather put you under an unbreakable vow to marry Mother?"

"I cannot speak of it," his father said, his mannerisms confirming what Draco had been told. "I shall not repeat my father's mistakes."

That was the last word that was spoken from his father to Draco that day. They arrived two hours later at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, and the house elf immediately brought his trunk up to his quarters. Draco had to walk.

It was very comforting that his father had said that he wouldn't repeat his father's mistakes. Draco knew that his Grandfather Malfoy was a throughly evil man. It was only complications from dragon pox that had finally made him retire, six years after the infection, at least that was what the everyone said. Draco believed otherwise.

Draco needed to speak to someone about what he'd learned, but it was obvious that his father was not going to be able to be that person, nor were any of his fellows in Slytherin. He couldn't wait for his return to Hogwarts to work this out. Owling Professor Snape, or Victoria wasn't something he could do ... yet.

It was definite that he wasn't going to talk to a house elf, and that left one person currently residing at Malfoy Manor. There was no helping it, he was going to have to be smothered by his mother.

* * *

"Now, how is my little dragon boy?" Draco's Mother asked him, standing as he entered her parlor. She didn't hug him. He'd told her not anymore before he left for Hogwarts. He missed the hug.

"Did you know a Erlene Prince at Hogwarts?" Draco asked. "I think she was in Father's year."

His mother stiffened a bit. "Where did you hear that name?" she asked softly. She seemed uncertain if she wanted to know the answer.

Draco wasn't sure how to reply, really. He'd actually hoped that his mother would respond with an answer. He kept silent, like he'd seen the fifth-year prefect do when Bole had responded his question about a missing item with a question.

"Erlene had a child, didn't she?" his mother asked, her eyes boring into Draco's "Probably in the third year?"

"Yes, Victoria," Draco said, meeting his mother's gaze.

"I told her that if she seceded, that would be the perfect name," Narcissa Malfoy said. "Is she spending the holiday at Hogwarts?"

"No."

"That explains why your father chose to pick you up." Draco watched his mother settle down on the sofa. "Sit down, Draco. So, tell me about this Victoria."

Draco took his seat next to his mother on the sofa. His mother pulled him close. With her arm around his shoulder, he felt close to his mother. It was a feeling that he'd missed at Hogwarts. He'd been told that feeling homesick was normal. He guessed it was, but wasn't really the home he missed. It was the little things.

He missed his mother tucking him in every night. He missed the hugs. He missed his father sneaking him an extra strawberry scone under the table to avoid his mother's knowing gaze. He even missed the way their house elf Dobby would pound his head on the wall after doing the slightest thing incorrect.

The arm around his shoulders, the familiar surroundings of his mother's parlor, the soft music playing in the background ... all of it made Draco relax. Time seemed to roll backwards, back to the time that he would talk to his mother about everyone he met, back before he had even learnt how to read.

"I met Victoria Price, she uses her step-father's name, on my second day of Hogwarts. It was just an introduction, and some advice from a prefect that Victoria was the person to seek out if you needed help with Herbology. I was told that she was also good at Potions, but by the weekend I'd heard that she'd gotten herself banned from Professor Snape's lab."

"It wasn't her fault though."

"I find that hard to believe," his mother said. "Severus does not ban people from his lab for no reason."

"It's not her fault," Draco repeated. "She can't help the fact that her step-father ..." Draco searched for the word to use. He didn't want to use a word that would cause his mother to have to use the mouth washing spell. Especially when he didn't really know how it happened. He settled for an neutral as possible term. "... made her pregnant."

Draco watched the expression on his mother change, from a calm, cool, and collected mother one to an expression of fury. He'd never really seen his mother get mad. She was always calm, even when things went really wrong. Draco had never seen her eyebrows meet and her lips pressed into a think line. He'd never seen her hair frizzle and spark with anger.

"Were is Victoria now?" she said, standing. "I'm going to go flatten that man."

"I don't know, mummy," Draco said, his mother's towering fury causing him to cringe back on the sofa. "Professor Snape was taking her to Christmas Break. He said something about Victoria asking if he had his Death Eater robes though."

"He and I are going to have to talk." his mother said, calming down slightly "No child of my husband should be treated that way."

"You mean, she is my half-sister?" Draco asked. "Really?"

"I don't see how she couldn't be," his mother said, sitting back down on the sofa. "Your father's behavior of the past couple years would seem to indicate it.

"A couple years ago, he went to watch the sorting, as is his right as a member of the Governors. He came back and was already into the fire whiskey. He's been a lot more active at Hogwarts than he's ever been since then. I've really never asked why. I actually thought he'd gotten drunk for the opposite reason."

"Father got drunk?" Draco said incredulously. The idea of his strict and proper acting father getting drunk just didn't fit.

"Your father does not get drunk often," his mother replied, taking a brush out of the adjacent end table. "It actually doesn't take much to make him that way. He's been using a switching spell to replace his wine with sparkling fruit juices since at least his sixth year. But, every once in a while ... well, he takes a whiskey lullaby."

"Now, tell me about your half-sister Victoria," she ordered as she began to brush her hair.

Draco resumed his tale about his half-sister, as his mother first brushed her hair, and then began to run the brush through his. By the time they were called for dinner, Draco was sitting in his mother's lap, embraced in her hug as his head leaned against her shoulders.

* * *

Erlene Prince-Price opened the silverware drawer in the apartment where she, her husband, and her four children lived. It wasn't the cleanest place, and it definitely wasn't large enough for the family. She'd lived a hard life since she had been forced out into the muggle world when her grandfather had disowned her and her first husband had been forced to disavowal their relationship.

Erlene had just returned from platform nine and three quarters. She had met her daughter's head of house, Professor Snape, there. Until that moment, she had expected to be picking up her daughter for Christmas Break. Until that moment, she had no idea that her husband had been sexually abusing his step-daughter. Until that moment, she had no idea that her daughter was pregnant with her second husband's baby.

"Where's Vicky?" Erlene turned around briefly to look at the speaker. It was her third daughter, Judith who was three, almost four. Little Joseph, just sixteen months old was toddling up to his sister's side. She never could tell Judith and Julie's voices apart.

Erlene turned back to the drawer, fumbling around with everything stashed in it. "Victoria will be staying elsewhere this Christmas."

"Why?" Judith asked, in a plaintive tone that Erlene knew was just the beginning of a long set of questions.

"Because she needs to," Erlene said, knowing that the answer wouldn't be enough for her youngest daughter. Her hand finally touched what she was looking for. It was made of elm with an unicorn hair core. It was her wand. There had been another wand in the drawer, three years ago, cherry with the same core from the same unicorn. That had been her first husband's wand. Both of them were custom makes, made after an accident in dueling during their sixth year. It was now Victoria's wand. "Where is Julie?" She hoped that the question would stop Judith's whys before they really started.

"Daddy took her out to help get dinner," Judith said.

"How long ago?" Erlene said, turning around to face her daughter and son.

Judith shrugged.

Erlene knew that meant that it had been a while. Suddenly she felt a bolt of horror go through her mind. The pregnant form of her daughter, just starting her third trimester had been enough to prove to Erlene, without a single word from Victoria, exactly who had been responsible. That was why, for the first time in nearly decade, Erlene had her wand out, ready to curse. Now that betrayer of vows and despoiler of daughters was out with another of her daughters, a daughter on the cusp of puberty.

The door jingled, as someone tried to unlock the door. "Judith, Joseph, go to your room now, and close the door. Don't come out until I say you can." Her children obeyed, the tone of her voice booking no argument from them. The door opened just as their bedroom door closed.

Her husband and Julie entered, carrying takeout from Victoria's favorite restaurant, obviously expecting her to come home, based on the smell of Sakura's full Japanese dinner. "Fenton Milhouse Price, step away from my daughter," she ordered, her wand pointing at her husband. The tip of her wand sparked with her anger. "Julie, put the food on the table, then come stand behind me."

Fenton had rarely seen her angry, and never had seen her angry with a wand. In fact, until recently, he'd rarely seen her with the wand. The door behind him slammed shut, and even though he stood a good foot taller and outweighed her by a good five stone, not to mention that his construction work had given him a well muscled body, he trembled.

Erlene had never seen Fenton tremble before. This was the first time the roles had been in her favor. Usually it was him coming home drunk, thought that hadn't happened in the last five years, that had her trembling, and often left her explaining away injuries.

"What's going on Mum?" Julie asked, having put the bags on the table.

"I just found out what your father did to Victoria," Erlene said, her anger still rising. "Why did you do it, Fenton?"

"It is my right as the head of the house to discipline the children as I feel fit," Fenton replied, back against the door and staring at Erlene's wand.

"Raping Victoria to the point of making her pregnant is not discipline," Erlene said, as she caught another smell over that of the food. It was enough for her to finally use her wand. "Incarcerous!" Ropes shot out of her wand, and bound Fenton, tightly, causing him to tumble over.

Erlene then turned to her daughter. The scent was clear, but she had to check. She lifted Julie's skirt, then dropped it. "Your father did that to you?"

Julie nodded, and after a moment's silence, continued, as if a dam had suddenly broke, and her words were the water. "He said daughters were supposed to do it, and that he'd done it with Victoria. Now that she was away at school and I was old enough, it was my turn. It hurts, but he said it would eventually feel really good. Mummy, why does he do it?"

"I don't know why my jewel," Erlene said, using her free hand to pull her into a hug. "But he's not going to be doing it any more. I am going to call the police, and he is never entering this apartment again."

"Really?" Julie said as she burrowed into her mother's hug.

"I might have to pull out my old books, but this place is going to be safe," Erlene said.

"Mummy, there is an owl in my room, but it's not Vickie's," Judith said. Erlene turned around to discover that her daughter had opened the door. "Why is Daddy all tied up?"

* * *

Victoria was surprised when Professor Snape stepped into her bedroom. She had changed into her nightgown after her bath, and was reading her transfiguration text, always something that could get her yawning. He'd knocked, though, and she was still awake, so she'd let him in and resumed her place under the covers.

"Miss Price, I've just heard from the police in Hounslow," Snape said, standing at the foot of her bed. "Your step father has been arrested and charged with raping your sister Julie. They would like to interview you tomorrow afternoon."

Victoria felt as if the world was crashing down on her. It was only the revelation of her pregnancy, a pregnancy that she had been trying to hide, trying to deny, that had brought what her father had done to her to her head of house's attention. Her gaze dropped down to her swollen belly. No other Slytherin knew what happened to her, and she'd never told her mother what her step father had done to her.

And now her step father had done it to her eight-year-old half sister. Victoria had been ten when her step father had first raped her. She'd never considered that her step father would do the same thing with Julie as he had with her. Her step father had told her, after all, that sharing no blood connection meant that he had no restrictions with her. It was obvious that her step father had lied. Her step father lied a lot, but for some reason, Victoria had believed him, and now her sister had been raped. Victoria knew it was her fault.

"Miss Price ... Victoria it is not your fault," Professor Snape said. Somehow he had moved around from the foot of her bed without her noticing. His hand touched her chin and directed her gaze so that his eyes met hers. "You could not stop him. Do not think that if you'd somehow done more your sister would not have been his victim. If anyone is at fault, if anyone is to blame, it is him and those responsible for enforcing the law.

"I notified Child Protective Services the morning after I found out. They chose not to act. They chose to allow a predatory abuser to remain in a house with young children. They chose to not even inform your mother as to what had happened to you. She only found out when she met us on the platform due to your failure to notify her of your alternate accommodations for Christmas.

"If it wasn't for your error, and your failures, your step father would not be in custody right now."

Victoria found herself shaking. She wanted to believe her professor. She wanted to think that she'd stopped her step father. But she couldn't. She wanted to see her sisters and little brother, to know they were safe. She wanted to be sure that her step father would never hurt anyone again. That she would never come home from school again to see her mother sporting bruises from her step father's drunken rage.

She'd let her step father do it to her, when she discovered that it seemed to stop him from attacking her mother. A step father raping her was to her mind better than a beaten mother. She figured that if she hadn't done it, her brother wouldn't exist. She knew that her mother had miscarried at least twice. Victoria had forced herself to believe that she had done some good by submitting to her step father's attentions.

"Let it go, Victoria," Snape ordered, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Victoria cried. Her tears flowed down her cheeks. Her body was wracked with long suppressed sobs of sorrow for how she had been forced to live. She obeyed Potions Professor, letting each moment, each tear, release a little bit more of what she was holding back. The crying, the wracking sobs overwhelmed her body. Her vision collapsed as tears distorted her view. She was nothing but her emotions.

Finally the sobs ended, and the tears trailed off. She did not open her eyes, but felt Professor Snape guide her to lay down. He pulled her covers up, and tucked her in. He whispered softly into her ear, "It shall get better." And then the lights dropped, leaving her wrapped tightly under thick blankets. The words echoed in her mind, and as she dropped into sleep they echoed in her soul.

* * *

Like every time he'd defied his father's magic, Lucius Malfoy stood on the balcony off of the library of Malfoy Manor looking towards the North West Cottage. It was in that cottage that his father still lived. His father that was why he couldn't do anything about his own daughter. As the red smoke of what ever experiment that his retired from public view father was doing billowed out of the cottage chimney, Lucius could not help but curse his father.

Everything that Abraxas Malfoy touched turned evil. There had been a time that Lucius believed that he could escape it. There had been eight months were he truly believed that he could set a different path than his father. Those eight months on the run with Erlene had been a dream, the last time he had truly been free.

It had started with their trip, two days before his time at Hogwarts officially came to an end. They'd flooed from the Three Broomsticks to the Old Blacksmith's Shop in Gretna Green, once Lucius had received word that his father was going to force him into another marriage immediately following his return to the Manor. Lucius had been determined to marry the woman he loved.

For eight months, he was married to Erlene. They had spent every day traveling through Scotland, England, and Wales. They had spent every night trying to make sure it was impossible to deny that Erlene was Lucius's wife. He'd been literally torn from the bed he was sharing with her, ripped from their joining, a joining that had been successful some time that week.

"Dobby," Lucius ordered as he continued to stare, unable to turn away from the cottage. "Scotch on the rocks." As he stared at the red smoke, the memory of the couple days after being torn from Erlene burned in his brain.

His father had placed him on a bier, and ritually bound him with the blood of a cockatrice under a dementor's cloak. He'd been force bound to the ancestral dominance wand, dragon heartstring and elm, instead of his beloved cherry and unicorn hair. He had not know what had happened to his beloved first wand until he'd seen it with his daughter. The dominance wand seemed push him more and more towards the dark spells his father preferred.

Then newly bent to his father's will, he'd been taken to the Dark Lord's side. There he had been forced to witness depravities that to this day he did not speak of until he broke and ended up joining the Dark Lord's Death Eaters drunken orgy receiving his mark after raping a muggle to death. With his mark, he no longer had any morals to stop him. He'd beaten, tortured, raped, and murdered. He sipped is scotch

Only once had his father's control broken, when the Dark Lord tested his loyalty by ordering him to curse his father. Lucius had taken that with great pleasure. He'd left his father weak and unable to rejoin society. The man was crippled, bent over, and easily exhausted from that point on. He still had control over Lucius though.

Once the Dark Lord was defeated, the control lessened. Sometimes, especially after he saw his daughter, it seemed to disappear, until he found himself on this balcony. On this balcony where he would rage against his father until his will was broken again.

Anger built to a crescendo, Lucius tossed the remnants of his scotch on to the tile of the balcony. He knew that if he couldn't break his father's control before he died, his father's death would seal his darkened soul. And then, some day, he would do it to his own son. It was the only reason that Abraxas Malfoy remained alive.


	3. To Hope until Hope Creates

_**Author's Note:**__ Two stories out of setup in one week ... I'm on a roll, which means the muse must move on._

**Chapter Two**

Erlene Price got out of the bed she'd shared with Fenton Price for the twelve and a half years of their marriage. Her body missed his presence, even the scent of beer on his breath. Her mind did not. She had tossed and turned all night, considering all the signs she's missed of his molesting her daughters. She didn't know how long it had been going on with Victoria, but with Julie, she could ask.

Judith and Joseph had been confined to their room, enforced by a locking charm, and a light sleeping spell, when she'd gone into the room that Julie shared with Victoria when she was home. Julie had been curled up in a ball on her sister's bed. The eight-year-old's arms were wrapped around her sister's old stuffed bear. The bear was missing one eye, and the left arm had been reattached at least a dozen times, but none of the girls would let anyone replace John Brown Bear.

With a bit of the hoarded hot chocolate, she had brought the story out of her second daughter. It had been Julie's first time, while Erlene had been out to pick up Victoria. In a way, that had been a relief, that it hadn't been worse, that Julie hadn't been abused as long and with such results as her older sister. But to Julie, it was obviously not a relief. Erlene had watched her daughter toss and turn, trying to get sleep. Twice during the night she'd woken with nightmares and sought her mother out.

Erlene looked in to her daughter's room. She was still asleep, holding John Brown Bear as if her life depended on it. She stepped in briefly, pulling up the blanket to cover her daughter better, before exiting and closing the door behind her.

Stepping into the kitchen, Erlene discovered an owl waiting for her, the same owl that had delivered a message right after she'd bound her husband. It was Narcissa's owl. Erlene smiled as she read it.

"Mummy, where's Daddy?" Judith asked, as she rubbed her eyes. The three-year-old had obviously just got out of bed, and hadn't put back on the night shirt that she removed in her sleep every night.

"In jail, where I hope he'll spend the rest of his miserable excuse for a life," Erlene said with a level of venom that she was surprised to hear from her own mouth.

"Why?" Judith asked, climbing up onto her chair with it's booster seat.

It wasn't easy for Erlene to fashion a response to that, even though her tossing and turning during the night had included thoughts about what she was going to tell her children. She had to answer, especially as Julie emerged from her room. "Your father did something to your older sisters that he was not supposed to do. It hurt them very much. When Mummy found out about it, I told the police about it, so they'd keep him from doing it again to any of his daughters."

"Father is gone?" Julie said, before a great yawn overtook her.

"Yes," Erlene said, looking right into her daughter's eyes. "And I'm going to make sure he can never do it again."

"What happened to Victoria?" Julie asked, as she broke her gaze in order to locate her favorite sugary cereal.

"Your sister is pregnant," Erlene said, as she started Judith's porridge. Julie looked down at her bare feet. "You knew that."

Julie nodded, before pouring her bowl of cereal. Julie poured her glass of orange juice, and a smaller cup for Judith, before taking her seat at the table. She took four spoonfuls under her mother's gaze before she spoke. "It was in her letter she sent to me in September. She's due in March."

"I did not know, Julie," Erlene said as Julie went back to eating. "I didn't find until I went to King's Cross to pick her up yesterday."

"Nobody sees anything," Julie said in a forlorn tone. "Victoria's been protecting us forever. When she left for Hogwarts the first time, I was so afraid. You'd just had Judith, and was going to be all alone. Victoria wouldn't be there to stand between me and Father anymore. But he didn't do anything. Victoria did something to John Brown Bear, and Father wouldn't do anything to me as long as I kept him near by."

"So that's why you wouldn't get rid of the bear, he was your guard," Erlene said, as she pulled the heated porridge from the stove. "Well, keep him with you, Julie. I have a feeling you'll need John Brown Bear for a while. Judith, let Joseph know that Julie needs John Brown Bear for a while, and keep him occupied, okay?"

"Okay, Mummy," Judith replied, plunging her spoon into the bowl that her mother had put before her.

"Julie, I've asked a friend of mine from when I was at Hogwarts to come over," Erlene said. "I know you're probably not going to be up to watching Julie and Joseph, and to be honest, I'd like someone else to be here if I have to leave, so she's bring her son with her."

* * *

Draco Malfoy looked at his mother with an expression of astonishment. "You want me to mind these two, while you and Victoria's mother go off to do something, something that you won't tell me at all. Mother, I'm eleven, and I've never done any child minding at all. What makes you think I want to, or more importantly, can watch two practically muggle toddlers?"

"Julie will be here, though given the potion I just gave her, she's likely to be a bit out of it for the next couple hours," his mother replied. "It's not summer, so you can use your wand if you have to. No one can see into the apartment, so as long as you don't blow the walls out, no problem with the Statutes of Secrecy. I'm sure you can find something to keep a pair of toddlers occupied for a few hours. You can also call for Dobby if you need him."

"I know that, but Mother..."

"But Mother no," his mother replied. "Erlene has agreed to it. I know you're a trustworthy young man. You can do it." Then she gave Draco a kiss, before both she and Erlene preformed a twist with their wands, and disappeared.

"Oh great. They're gone." he said.

"Gone with the hogshead cask, and demijohn," Julie said from where she was laid out on what Draco had been told was a couch. It looked way too soft to be one to him. His half-sister's oldest half-sister had been muttering nonsense since his mother had given her a red potion that she'd spent all morning making. "Gone with the sugar barrel, pickle barrel, milk pan."

The toddling little boy, the youngest of his charges toddled up to his sister and tried to insist that she quiet down, shushing her in such a tone that to Draco it sounded a bit like the Hogwarts Express picking up steam.

He looked over at his last charge, who was sitting over in front a bulky muggle chess set. "So, Judith is it?" The little girl nodded. "Do you play chess?"

"Not good. I forget how pieces move," the little girl admitted. She was looking at the set with such longing that Draco knew she wanted to play.

"Well, with a magical set, you don't have to remember," Draco said. "Maybe if you're good I can get you one. Until then, I'll help you learn, okay?"

"Okay," Judith replied. "Can we play now?"

* * *

Victoria Price did not know what to expect when she left the Hounslow Police Station. She had spent the last hour telling the Police what her step-father had done to her. She had expected Professor Snape to be waiting for her, but the officer in charge had told her that her mother was outside and wanted to speak to her.

As soon as the door swung closed behind her, she spotted her mother, standing between Professor Snape and another woman. That woman and long black hair with a few strands of white down the front. It took just a bit to identify her, Narcissa Malfoy, the woman who had replaced her mother and bore her little jerk of a half-brother. She knew that Draco didn't know that she was his older half-sister. If he had, Victoria wouldn't have restrained herself from strangling him, several times.

"Victoria," her mother greeted, hugging her as tightly as she could, given the bulk of Victoria's six and a half months along form. In her mother's arms, the thirteen-year-old felt wanted and protected for the first time since she got off the Hogwarts Express for the Summer.

"Mum," Victoria replied, tears threatening. She tried sink into her mother's arms, only to discover that the bulge of the baby growing inside her wouldn't allow her as close as she wanted to. Still, she got as close as she could, enjoying the feeling of her mother's arms around her.

"I do hate to interrupt, but we are on a schedule," Narcissa said. "We really need to make sure everyone knows their role before we go to reverse the binding on Lucius and take care of my unlamented father-in-law."

Victoria wasn't sure how long she'd been in her mother's arms at the time of Narcissa's interruption, but quickly found herself reversed, her mother's arms around her from behind after that. "What about Abraxas Malfoy?" she asked.

"I have spent the last decade trying to find out how Abraxas bound Lucius and ended, or attempted to end his marriage to your mother, Victoria," Narcissa began. "A few weeks ago, by pure luck, I found a reversal ritual. At the time, however, I did not have the qualifying witches to preform the ritual. Tell me, Victoria, is that wand the one that was made for your father, and have you truly bond with that wand?"

"Yes, to both," Victoria said. "Long before I left for Hogwarts actually. I found the wand when I was eight. It gave a wonderful swirl of cherry blossoms the moment I raised it in my hand. "

"Then since I have already secured your mother's participation, would you join me as leader of the three witches of ritual unbonding?" Narcissa asked.

"I'm pregnant, is their any risk to me or my baby?" Victoria asked, as her mother's hands felt the baby kick inside her.

"I have found no risk to us," Narcissa replied. "That doesn't mean that there isn't, of course. There is very little on this. There is quite a bit of risk to Lucius, in fact there is a small chance, that if we're doing this too late, that Draco will inherit much sooner than expected. The effects on Abraxas will be quite hazardous to him, but then again, that is the general plan. I do not wish his continued influence on my family."

"Mum, you've looked at this?" Victoria asked.

"Yes, and I'm all for it," her mother said. "You're going to have to do some quick memorization, but you've always been good with that."

Victoria felt her mother's touch on her belly, and saw the pleading expression on Narcissa Malfoy. It was obvious that Narcissa was not used to pleading. "What happens to us if everything works?"

"Your father never divorced your mother," Narcissa said. "Technically, I'm a second wife, not that anyone seems to know that, or really care. I can not promise anything, but I would like both you and your mother at the very least, to take up Malfoy Manor as one, if not your only, residence."

Victoria considered it. She knew from Draco, all about Malfoy Manor. Her half brother could not shut up about the place once you got him started. It was much better than any of the places she'd lived in. She'd been worried about where she was going to live with her baby. "I'm in."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy found himself sitting on the balcony again. He wasn't sure why. Usually it was by compulsion, after he defied his father. This time it wasn't. This time Narcissa had asked him to have dinner as the sun set on the day of the Winter Equinox on the balcony. It was apparently important to her. Never mind that she wouldn't be joining him, he had to be there. Her note had said something about being free, but the words meant little to him. He hadn't been free since the day he'd been yanked out of the bed he'd shared with Erlene.

When he'd entered the balcony, there had been a frame affixed to the railing. From where he was sitting, it framed the North West Cottage quite well. There was also a gold ring around the dinner setting, unfortunately for just one. He enjoyed his dinner conversation with Narcissa.

As he awaited the arrival of dinner, the frame suddenly snapped, and a close up of three witches at the door of the North West Cottage appeared in it. The three were dressed in white robes, hoods up to conceal their identities.

The one on the left was easy for Lucius to identify. When Narcissa and he had first wed, he'd made the comment that she was losing her blondness, but not to worry, as he had enough for them both. Narcissa had been the little blond girl of the Black sisters, the only one of them to have the hair. It had darkened with age, and was not near the same shade as her childhood shade. Narcissa had immediately taken to bleaching her hair, but always seemed to leave the top the natural color.

On the right was someone he'd recognize anywhere, even with all the years that had passed, even from behind. He may not have seen the particular golden hue in over a decade and a half, but he knew it at a glance, even from behind, even before she'd looked at the center witch, allowing him to see the profile of her face for the first time since he'd been yanked from their wedding bed. Her name escaped him for the first time in what seemed to be forever. "Erlene." Even as the name escaped him, he felt his father's compulsions attempt to grasp his mind again.

In the center, though, there was another witch he knew. He felt the tendrils around his mind relax as a familiar wand rose and touched the door. The cherry and unicorn hair core wand sent sparks around the cottage, illuminating the grounds. His daughter looked over at her mother, and for the first time, Lucius Malfoy got to see his daughter's real smile. It was a smile of hope, illuminated by the nimbus of her own golden blond hair, a touch lighter than her mother's. On to her shoulder, a phoenix suddenly found it's perch, it's song swelling around the grounds, the notes impossible to restrain.

For the first time in forever, as the door to the cottage opened, Lucius Malfoy felt hope.


	4. Neither to change, nor falter

Chapter Three: Neither to Change, nor falter

The stench was the first thing that Victoria noticed as she entered the cottage. It was hard to miss. It smelled of dragon dung, brimstone, and dregs of weeks old coffee grounds. The red glowing mist clinging to the ceiling merely underscored the evil that was her grandfather, before she even saw him for the first time.

If you were to describe a typical Malfoy, the first thing that always came to mind was the impeccably cared for blond hair. There were some that said it was genetically bred into the family, and that the Potters had obviously gone the other way. Abraxas Malfoy had long lost that impeccably cared for blond hair. Instead he had washed out gray hair, streaked with soot. His face seemed to be melted, his wrinkles cascading down as if it was wax dripping from a lit candle, a common feature of an elderly wizard who had barely survived dragon pox. His blue eyes pierced Victoria's soul, only briefly darting left and right to look at her mother and Draco's mother.

"Who are you?" his dry, rasping baritone demanded.

"I am that which you wronged from the moment of my conception. I am the doom of your plans for the future. I am the future. I am Victoria Eugenia Malfoy, daughter of Lucius and Erlene," Victoria said with as much force as she could. It was the first time she had used Malfoy as her name. She hadn't know that it was her family name until earlier today. She had thought that if anything she was born out of wedlock, but she had not been. Her mother was still married to her father.

To her right, Victoria's mother dropped her hood and said, "I am that whose bond you tore asunder at the moment of its greatest depth. I am the path on whom the future comes. I am Erlene Prince Malfoy, mother of Victoria."

Then to her left. "I am that who you used to bend your son's will. I am the fulcrum whose placement you failed. I am the place on which the future turns. I am Narcissa Black Malfoy, mother of Draco."

She watched as her grandfather's eyes went wide, her smile growing, as she and her mothers began to chant.

"Fair is foul, foul is fair  
hover through fog and filthy air"

Her grandfather suddenly found himself suspended in the air. With a gesture, her mother turned him on his side, as a conjured bier of marble appeared below him, the work of Narcissa. The thought passed through Victoria's mind that there had to be a term for your father's other wife, but she didn't know it. She began the memorized chant, as they began to weave a phoenix fire lattice over the stiff form of the man responsible for her mother's exile.

"Chains, family you bound,  
Through ages evil tilled into ground.  
Will, you handed to evil demons  
Beyond the gate, beyond the veil  
Through the sacrifice of thy entrails  
The family line demonic dominion"

Around her grandfather's body, smoke and darkness coalesced. Yet the phoenix fire lattice seemed to burn though the darkness, allowing Victoria to see her Grandfather's surprised expression. Dumbledore's phoenix began to sing as Victoria continued the chant

"By phoenix cry, by phoenix tear  
By torn true love, mother's tear  
By slow love's growth, wife's tear  
By fruit of forbidden love's tear  
Fountain filled, bier prepared  
Light shall wash, tears cleared"

A torrent of light filled water materialized, as if tears were falling from the ceiling. It swirled around the room, making an island out of her Grandfather's bier.

"For all the bonds you made  
For all the commands you gave  
Our tears shall loose a torrent clear  
Ever bound from torrent wave  
Shall let loose all that you made  
What you enforced is now empty air"

The black smoke and brimstone seemed to vanish from the cottage, now lit in clear unwavering pheonix fire.

"Promises and bonds were made on loan  
That which you promised is yours alone  
Now we call upon judgement by phoenix  
Let that which wronged be judged  
For by the music hearts are swayed  
Today, as we call upon song of phoenix."

Fawkes's song rose, and his fire brightened. Victoria's vision nearly disappeared, as she kept her eyes open, unwilling to let herself look away from the judgement of Light on the man who had first set her on the path of ruin she felt herself on. As the song filled her, and the light washed through her, Victoria began to feel a great calmness through her body. A warmth touched her through her white robes, and exaltation seemed to be ready to escape from her lips.

There was a sharp cry of anguish, readily identified as that of Abraxas Malfoy, followed by a screech as if demons were playing back-up to a fiddle down in Georgia. Then the phoenix song rose again.

The light receded, and the phoenix song softened, revealing the marble bier to now only hold the crumbling bones of her grandfather.

Victoria felt the energy fill her body, the song calm her soul, as the spells ended. The once dark and brimestone filled cottage was that no more. Instead it practically glowed, every surface cleaner than a team of all of Hogwarts Elves could ever make it. There was the scent of Spring, even in this, the depths of Winter, in the room.

Fawkes launched from Victoria's shoulder, and toured the room, leaving trails of feathery imprints on the now goldenrod colored walls. He then burst into flames in the center of the room, leaving behind a permanent echo of his song in the cottage.

"Well done, Victoria," came the praise from both her mother and Narcissa, as they hugged her.

The hug seemed to take the energy away from her, like a spark of static on a dry winter's day. Victoria slumped into their hug, and let them take her where they willed.

* * *

The music still echoed on the balcony. Lucius had seen his wives and daughter in the frame, ritually removing his father and his father's magic from existence. The torrent of tears that swirled around the bier in the cottage had twisted through the frame and around Lucius, leaving him shivering in wet robes. The warmth of phoenix fire had given way to the cool breeze of the summer night.

Lucius had felt the weight of his father-forced actions lift from his body as his father had been consumed by phoenix fire and washed away by his ladies' tears. His once black silk robes were no longer the deepest black of night, but a cool silver, patterned with the tears. He reached for his cane to pull out his wand and cast a warming charm, to banish the wetness of his clothes.

The wand was gone. No longer was the wand his father had forced on him in its holster in his cane. Instead there was just a puff of smoke, barely even visible in the candlelight.

"Victoria thought you might need this."

Lucius turned, and found his wife Narcissa standing there, still dressed in the white robes of the ritual. She was handing the cherry wand that had been made for him, brother to that of Erlene's. He reached out and touched it, feeling the texture, welcoming the feeling of a long lost beloved friend. He didn't take it from Narcissa. Instead he shook his head. "No, this is Victoria's wand now. I shall not taint it with what I have done. It needs to be in my daughter's pure hands."

Narcissa nodded, putting the wand down on the table. She wandlessly cast a warming charm on him, before taking a seat beside him, calling out, "Dobby!"

"Yes Mistress Malfoy?"

"The feast." Narcissa ordered.

"Where are Victoria and Erlene?" Lucius asked, noting for the first time that the balcony was set for an intimate dinner for two, now.

"Victoria has an appointment with the muggle Child Protective Services early tomorrow morning," Narcissa said. "She'll be spending at least the first part of Yule with Severus and Professor McGonagall at a bed and breakfast in Kingston-on-Thames. They're discussing what her step-father has done to her."

"And Erlene?"

"She's gone home to see what damage Draco has done to watching her three other children," Narcissa said, as the feast appeared. "I volunteered our son to watch them this evening."

"I do not believe that our son has any instruction on child minding," Lucius said, before picking up his fork. "I was also not aware that Erlene had other children."

"Abraxas enforced a muggle marriage on her," Narcissa replied. "She has three surviving children with Fenton Price, Julie who is eight, Judith three, and Joseph who is just sixteen months old. Fenton was arrested yesterday for raping Julie."

"You have offered the family services for revenge?" Lucius asked.

"I believe that Erlene has everything well in hand, save perhaps the need for the family solicitor, though his lack of practice in the muggle world might detract from his success," Narcissa said.

"I intend to fire the firm," Lucius said, before taking up an oyster. Narcissa hadn't had those on the menu for quite some time. "Perhaps your sister Andromeda may be able to recommend someone."

"I imagine that Andy would try to take on the job herself, if she could," Narcissa said. After a few minutes silence, she spoke again. "Erlene will be around tomorrow, I think, for her turn."

"Her turn?"

"You really don't think either of your wives are letting you get away, do you?"

* * *

Draco Malfoy dumped the used diaper into the bucket. In the corner, Julie was laughing. The girl had recovered from whatever Draco's mother had given her, but wasn't supposed to lift or do anything for another hour or so. That left Draco to change her brother's diaper.

He'd been told by his mother that he was a big brother and taking care of the little ones was part of the job. Draco didn't know exactly how he'd suddenly acquired three sisters and a baby brother. If you'd asked him just a couple days ago, he would have said that he was an only child. Then he found about Victoria.

He still didn't know what to think about Victoria. She was older than him, and pregnant with her first child, the product of rape by her step-father. The three children he was currently responsible for were the product of her mother's union with her step-father. Draco didn't know what Julie, Judith, and Joseph were to him. Well, aside from Judith being a chess shark. Their was no way that the girl could have just learnt to play chess. He hadn't been so trounced in his entire life.

Another gale of laughter came from the corner as the toddler on the table exercised amazing accuracy, letting loose a stream of urine that hit Draco right on the nose.

As he picked up a clean cloth to wipe his face, Draco looked down at the smirking toddler, and said. "You're despicable, you know that?"

Another gale of laughter came from the corner.

"And don't tell me he's never done that to you, Julie," Draco said, as he wiped Joseph clean.

"Oh, of course he has," Julie replied. "It's still funny, as long as you're not it."

Draco quickly put a fresh diaper on the toddler, remembering how the other looked. "Did I do that right?" he asked the eight-year-old.

"It looks right to me," Julie said. "As long as it doesn't fall off, and he doesn't complain, it's good enough."

"Right," Draco said, lifting Joseph off the table and putting him back down on the floor. "Now back to the chess shark, who no doubt wants to see if I'm willing to try five out of nine."

"You're too easy for Judy," Julie said. "Let a real chess Queen challenge her."

"Then I'll owl Victoria ... or better yet, Ron Weasley," Draco replied. "No one beats Weasley, at least not in my year, and we've all tried. I lost thirteen sickles to him."

"Sickles?" Julie asked.

"That's a coin in our world," Draco said.

"How much is it worth in pounds?" Julie asked.

"Not sure," Draco said. "I've never paid attention to muggle money. This is the first time I've really been out of the wizarding places.

"Really?"

"When I went to King's Cross to catch the Hogwarts Express, it was the first time I'd really seen anything muggle built," Draco replied.

"You mean you haven't seen Westminster Abbey, the tower of Big Ben?" Julie sang.

"None of that," Draco said, watching Joseph toddle over.

"You are deprived, Draco," Julie said, firmly.

* * *

Erlene opened the door from her bedroom and looked out to the living room. She'd just come from Malfoy Manner, having dropped Victoria back at the bed and breakfast on her way back. She really wanted Victoria home with her, but Victoria had her first meeting with Child Protective Services the next morning.

She looked around the room, and soon spotted the rest of her children. Draco was seated in the mass of them, Judith leaning into his right side, Joseph seated on his lap, and Julie on his left. Julie was the only awake one, having snared the book that Draco had apparently read himself and the others to sleep with.

Julie looked up, probably after hearing the slight squeak of the door. She was smiling. Erlene had worried that Julie would never smile again, not after what her father had done to her. The book was put aside, and Julie stood, rushing over to hug her mother.

"So, Julie, how was Draco at child minding?" Erlene asked, as her daughter hugged her.

"Not too bad," Julie replied, looking up at her, not letting go of the hug. "Joseph peed on him when he changed his diaper. Judy beat him twice at Chess."

"Let me guess, the little squirt didn't tell him she knew how to play," Erlene said. Julie shook her head. "And you didn't volunteer either?"

"I was out of it for a while with that potion," Julie said. "Can you thank Mrs. Malfoy for me? It doesn't hurt anymore."

"You can thank her yourself, when she comes to pick up Draco, tomorrow," Erlene said.

"Draco's staying overnight?" Julie asked. "Cool!"

Erlene smiled. It looked like Draco was going to be a good big brother for her children, judging by Julie and her sleeping siblings. "We'll see if he thinks that," Erlene said.

"Mum, can we visit Draco's house sometime?" Julie asked. "He makes it sound so cool. Did you know he has a slide from his suite down to the garden?"

"No, I did not," Erlene said, smiling. That sounded like something Lucius would do for his son, though. "Now, why don't you tell me all about it while I make us something to eat." Julie nodded, and finally ended her hug.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: I think I'm going to be moving these to the end from now on._

_Several PMs have asked what changed to cause this story to happen that didn't occur in canon. The sequence of events that brought us to this story is: Hermione gets pregnant due to the ritual circle in the bathroom during the troll attack. This brings the fact that Harry is abused to McGonagall's attention. That puts Harry on the train for Christmas, which allows Draco to find out about Victoria. He tells Narcissa, which brings us to this chapter, after which Draco's life is never going to be the same. I may do a short, if there is demand, after this story is complete, that shows what would have happened to Erlene, Victoria, and Julie if the point of departure from canon hadn't happened. _

_I'd like to thank the following for their feedback on this chapter during it's writing on CaerAzkaban: fibinaci, Jim Trig, dragonbard, MoKR, ekoja, and Yamaban._


	5. Good, great, and joyous

**Chapter 4**: Good, great, and joyous

Victoria Price raged as she exited the room she'd been meeting with the lady from Child Protective Services in. "Reconciliation, she says!" she growled. "I'm sorry for not believing you, Harry. CPS is stupid! My step-father is in jail for raping my half-sister, and the stupid bureaucrat expects me to reconcile and return home to live with him this summer."

"I told you they were stupid," Harry Potter said, from where he sat in the bed-and-breakfast's front parlor. "They were ready to take me home to the Dursleys until Professor McGonagall put Dean's drawing on the table."

"Dean's drawing?" Victoria asked, curious.

"Dean Thomas is one of my dorm mates," Harry said, in a rather dull tone, as he slumped in the chair. "He's a great artist. He drew the scars on my back. That CPS lady was horrified. Apparently Dean shouldn't be sketching nudes."

"What!" Victoria sputtered.

"Yes, the first complaint out of that lady's mouth was that it wasn't appropriate to be showing a nude drawing of a boy, even if it was from the back side, and just showed everything from my butt to my head," Harry said, his tone still dull, and his eyes downcast. "Idiot."

"Did she look at the drawing?" Victoria asked, taking a seat on a rocking chair next to Harry. It was generally easier to get up from them.

"Eventually," Harry replied, the toe of his shoe scuffing the hard wood floor. "I don't think she believed it, but one look at Professor McGonagall and that was that."

"The Professors are great, aren't they?" Victoria said. "I think Professor Snape is still cataloging the ills with my case manager." She shifted her voice to a fair imitation of her head of house, "And Mrs. Lochhaven, has it escaped your ... attention ... that my charge is currently pregnant? Perhaps you believe she might have ... swallowed a melon, thus explaining her current figure."

Suddenly, Harry broke out in a burst of laughter, that once started, it sounded like he wasn't going to be able to stop for quite some time. Victoria found the laughter contagious, and added her own laughter to the once somber parlor.

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat in the kitchen with Julie. He hadn't figured out exactly what to call the girl. She was his half sister's half sister. That meant that they shared no blood, but from what he'd overheard between his mother and her mother, there was a good possibility that Julie, Judith, Joseph and their mother would be moving into Malfoy Manor before he headed back to Hogwarts to finish his First Year.

He'd just finished his Potions homework for the break. Julie was apparently working on her own homework, for her muggle Science class. It looked to be a lot easier than his essay on the properties of wormwood. In fact, it seemed to be fill in the blank. Draco wished his homework would have been fill in the blank. True, hers had been six pages of muggle paper, where his had been two feet of parchment.

"There, done," Julie said, slamming her book closed. As she looked across the table at Draco, she had a expression on her face that seemed to promise something, but Draco wasn't quite sure what ... yet.

They were the only ones in the apartment. Draco's mother and Julie's mother had taken Judith and Joseph with them when they went shopping. Draco was rather happy about that. It meant that he was not having to change Joseph's diapers again. Draco wasn't exactly sure where they were shopping, only that Julie didn't need to come because she'd be getting hers special.

"So, Draco, what are we going to do next?" Julie asked. "I've done all my homework, and there is nothing good on the telly today. Unless you count the Mickey's Christmas Carol on BBC2 tonight, and I don't."

"Mickey's Christmas Carol? Is that some sort of song?" Draco asked.

"It's a version of Charles Dickens's story _A Christmas Carol_, starring Mickey Mouse," Julie said. "Dad always watched it with me.." Julie went silent for a minute or two. Draco could tell that she was remembering something she didn't want to. He'd been warned not to bring up her father, so he remained silent until Julie spoke again. "You've never heard of _A Christmas Carol_, either have you? Ebenezer Scrooge? Bob Cratchit?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Julie," Draco replied. He figured it had to be something significant in the muggle world though.

"We've got to fix that," Julie said, getting up and rushing over to pick up a booklet that was kept next to the telly. She turned through the pages. "There always is some version of it showing. Ah! Ten minutes from now, _'A Christmas Carol_ (1984) starring George C. Scott. The definitive version of Dickens's classic.' Put up your books, Draco, and I'll get out the soda and munchies. We're watching a movie this afternoon."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had not seen Erlene since the day their daughter had been conceived, when his father ripped him from their marriage bed. When Narcissa had told him that Erlene would come to visit that afternoon, Lucius had immediately decided to pull out robes he hadn't worn in years. It took five resizing charms to fit into his dress robes from his seventh year.

Erlene, on the other hand, appeared in the foyer of Malfoy Manor dressed in a simple white blouse and deep green skirt. It reminded him of what she'd worn the day before they were ripped apart. Her figure wasn't as thin as it had been fourteen years ago, but she had four children since then, and even then, she was still beautiful to Lucius's eyes.

"Lucius," Erlene said, drawing his name out in her soprano voice. The sound of her saying his name had him nearly breathless, unable to say a word. He held out his arms, and she rushed into his. "Lucius."

"Erlene ... I missed you so," Lucius said, tears starting to go down his cheeks.

"So Narcissa told me," Erlene replied. "She says you never let go of me, even with Draco's birth."

"I couldn't go see you," Lucius said, tightening his grasp. "Abraxas stopped me. He made me curse your name. I couldn't even have someone find you, or send you a message. I never stopped loving you, though. He couldn't make me forget you."

"Narcissa told me about your wedding night with her," Erlene said. "Did you really..."

"Yes I did," Lucius said, putting his finger across Erlene's lips. "I don't want to talk about that, now. Tell me, Erlene, what happened to you? What happened to our daughter?"

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy considered herself very lucky. Her husband had just been freed from over a decade of enslavement by his father. It looked like Draco was growing up a bit. And best of all, for the first time, she was getting to take a daughter to get her first Christmas Ball dress. True, it really wasn't her daughter, and Julie was only eight, but if everything went the way Narcissa thought it would, Julie would for all practical purposes be one. You were supposed to treat your sister wives' children like your own, after all.

"Come on, Julie," Narcissa said to the girl as she hovered in the door of MacTavish's Clothiers in Diagon Alley. MacTavish's was a rather exclusive tailor, serving only the top of the Wizarding World's pure bloods. She remembered when she had received her first MacTavish Christmas robe. She'd been ten.

Julie kept looking every which way, catching the cloth, accessories, and even jewels prepared for the Christmas season. Narcissa smiled, as she watched the girl resume her place at Narcissa's side.

"Madam Malfoy, what brings you to to MacTavish's today," the chief tailor, a man with a upturned nose that Narcissa recalled went by Elim. From his looks, he did not approve of Julie's turtle neck shirt with a v-neck jumper outfit.

"I promised Miss Julie Malfoy that I would arrange for her first real dress robes for the Malfoy New Year's Ball," Narcissa said. "She and her elder sister will be making their family debut, then. You should expect Madam Erlene and her elder daughter Victoria tomorrow or the next day. I understand that it will be a rush order, but I do not wish to stint on quality for the first Malfoy daughters."

"As you wish, Madam Malfoy," Elim said. "Miss Julie, if you'll follow my colleague, Miss Greta, she will take your measurements, while I shall pick up a selection of choice fabrics."

Julie followed the young seamstress to a side room, as Narcissa moved closer to Elim. She whispered in Elim's ear. "I do not want a single rumor about Julie, her mother, and especially not Victoria to come from this shop or any of her employees. When Miss Victoria comes, there will be no comments or rumors started in regards to her condition. The Malfoy family is handling the issues with her former male custodial guardian. That should also not be spoken of. You may congratulate my sister wife Madam Erlene on her beautiful daughter ... if you do not wish us to go elsewhere in the future."

"Should I pass along to Madam Erlene how pretty and well behaved Miss Julie was, when she arrives?" Elim asked, as if Narcissa had not issued a single threat.

"Assuming it is genuine, I am sure that my sister wife will find such comments favorable," Narcissa said. "Now, what would you recommend for Julie. It is her first special robes, and I want her to remember them."

"While I would normally recommend silk, and a classic white or red robe," Elim began, walking over to a table piled with an assortment of Christmas prints, "I think perhaps a holiday pattern ... not a white or silver one ..." He began to go through several of the prints.

"Ah, a rich red and a matching green ... perhaps having some holly embroidered on to it ... silver or gold underlay ... we shall have to see what looks best on her. Miss Fredia! I want samples of the red silk, a couple shades of scarlet, perhaps some crimson, and definitely carmine. Do not dare bring me any maroon."

Narcissa watched as a fairly young seamstress rushed off to the back via a door draped in red. All the other young seamstresses were looking up, ready to move at a moment's notice from the Master Tailor.

"Miss Hester! Samples of the green silk, avocado, hunter, maybe some drab olive. No chartreuse or lime. Mrs. Martin! when you're done with Miss Romilda's fitting, search out a few holly patterns ... and get those baubles that were too small for Madam Nott's robes. I shall be in fitting three designing something superb for Miss Julie."

The store broke out into activity on Chief Tailor Elim's orders. Narcissa had always admired the way Master Elim could get his staff to move. He was already heading for the room in which Miss Greta was measuring Julie.

"Miss Julie, welcome to MacTavish's," Elim said, effecting a deep bow, and pulling a gold silk rose from his sleeve. "I am Master Elim, your tailor today. Madam Malfoy tells me that you are getting your first dress robes for the Malfoy New Years Ball. It shall be my task to make sure they show off your exquisite beauty. Your task, that of being a quite beautiful young girl, seems to be already well at hand."

Julie took the offered rose, looking up at Narcissa. "You'll want to save that, Julie," Narcissa said. "I still have my first MacTavish Rose. He only gives them to the prettiest little girls that he makes the exquisite robes for." Julie blushed.

"Measurements done, Miss Greta?" Elim asked. Miss Greta nodded. "Then if you'll bring me the number six, fourteen, and twenty-seven gold under silk. I think we'll be forgoing silver with Miss Julie. Now, Julie, we're going to see how a few colors look for you. Ah, Miss Fredia. Julie, these are the red shades. If you'll hold out your arm against them, we'll see how they look against your skin. If you don't like any of them, please let us know. It will not do for a girl's first dress robes to be in a color she hates!"

"Yes Master Elim," Julie said. "The only color I don't like is crimson."

"Miss Fredia! banish that bolt back! We do not wish to be tempted by that color," Elim ordered. "Never mind, I shall take care of it myself!" And with a swish of his wand, the offending bolt of crimson silk shot out from the bolts that Miss Fredia had brought, and then went end over end, out into the main room and out of sight. "Now let's see how you look in carmine."

* * *

Erlene Malfoy, it had been so long since she'd thought of herself as that, entered right behind her husband into Ollivander's. The smell of varnish and fresh cut wood filled her nostrils. Ollivander was at the counter, showing a young man, probably a fourth-year, how to carve a wand.

"There you go, Julian," Ollivander said. "You have to be very careful, especially with the hemlock, as it is so soft. " He looked up, directly at Lucius. "Mister Malfoy, I see you have lost another wand. Eighteen inches, elm, dragon heart string ... your family is lucky to have rid yourselves of it. I think another cherry for you ... perhaps ... yes. Young Julian, the cherry and unicorn tail hair that you finished late last night?"

"You really think one of my wands is good enough," the boy stated.

Erlene rarely had seen a boy so nervous, though she imagined that when any of her daughters' boyfriends, when they got them, would be at least that nervous when they approached Lucius.

"Bring that one, and the other wands we completed last night forward. The wand chooses the wizard," Ollivander said, waving him towards the back, before turning towards Lucius again. "My journeyman, one of my nephews, actually, has been working with me this break. He's a little weak with carving the really hard woods, but has an adept hand with assembly, and a knack for matching core and wood. Last night he finished one using the same wood and core combination that I sold you before your seventh year ... your third wand, I believe. With your permission, I'd like him to conduct the sale, starting with his wands. Ollivander's will assure that you get the best match in our inventory, of course."

Lucius and Erlene shared a glance, before Lucius smiled his acceptance.

Julian returned quite promptly, with a stack of wand boxes. On top was a deep blue box, marked with a different logo than the rest. Where the others, mostly white or cream boxes, had 'Ollivander's a wand by Garrick' this one said 'Ollivander's handcrafted wand by Julian.'

"I can't say that I remember every wand I've sold, as I've actually not sold a wand before," Julian began, "but I believe that my uncle said this one is like your third wand. It actually reminds me of the one that one of my Slytherin classmates, a year behind me, has, Victoria Prince. Hers is a second hand cherry, unicorn hair core, fifteen inches, and slightly bendy. Is she a relation of yours perhaps?"

"She's our daughter," Erlene interjected. "And that wand was Lucius's third wand."

"Oh, well, then, this one is much more likely to find you pleasing than I expected, Lord Malfoy," Julian said. "Cherry, unicorn hair core, sixteen and an eighth inches, slightly twisted, a bit more bendy than Victoria's is." He handed the wand to Lucius.

Lucius raised the wand to point to the ceiling, and Erlene once again witnessed the scene she had the day they'd both received their first cherry wands. A gentle flow of air rose from the floor, with the scent of cherry blossoms filling the room. A pure white glow rose from the tip, directing the wind upwards, and then down floated the white and pink petals which adhered to Lucius's robes, turning the gray robes to silver briefly, as they disappeared.

"I think you've found your wand, and I didn't have to dig through the shelves," Julian said, looking over at his uncle.

"Indeed," Ollivander said. "Seven Gallons, seven sickles, shall cover the cost. You may, of course, choose my more traditional box."

Erlene watched as Lucius returned the wand to the box. It fit neatly in the padded felt. He then pulled the top off his cane, and offered it to Julian. "Will this wand fit my cane?"

Julian carefully examined the cane carefully. "I'll need to provide you with a ring insert, but it should not be a problem."

"No extra charge," Ollivander chimed it. "You may find the cane adjusting to its new occupant. Julian, I shall get the insert." And with that Garrick Ollivander headed back to the rear of the store with the cane.

"So, Journeyman Julian, how do you know my daughter?" Lucius asked, in a deep tone.

Erlene had to admire her husband's shift from normal to threatening. Julian had gulped the moment Lucius had completed the word 'daughter.'

"Professor Snape introduced us," Julian said. "I tutor her on days that she can't go to potions due not being able to be around the potions being brewed."

"I see," Lucius said. "And how did you get this job?"

"I have a free period during Slytherin's third year potion class, and I'm number one in my year in Potions, despite being a Hufflepuff," Julian said. "Professor Snape says I get my potions talent from my mother, Lucrezia."

"Lucrezia Fisher?" Erlene asked. Julian nodded. "Remember her, Lucius. She was the one who arranged for it to rain on Gilderoy Lockhart when he cheated on her."

"It didn't stop for forty days and nights," Lucius mused, looking at his new wand. "If you have half the creativity, and half the intelligence of your mother, I expect you shall excel at Hogwarts."

"I should be so lucky, sir, to even have a spark's worth of the burning fire of my mother," Julian replied.

"Oh, you have more than that," Ollivander said, returning with the cane. "This should work with your new wand now."

Lucius tested it, inserting the wand into the place that had once held the ancestral Malfoy wand, now lost in cleansing the family of his father's deeds.

"I find that my daughter will need some companions her age at the Malfoy family New Year's Ball," Erlene remarked, making a snap decision. "Would you be averse to an invitation?"

"No ma'am," Julian said, as Lucius returned the wand to its box and closed it.

"I shall arrange for one, then," Erlene said, placing her arm around her husband. "Come along, Lucius. We have an appointment with your chambers."

"Yes, my love," Lucius said, placing the payment on the counter, and picking up the box with his wand. "Good evening, gentlemen."

* * *

_**Author's Note: **One more chapter, and then I'll be on to the Christmas at Malfoy Manor. The next chapter will have Lucius taking care of a loose end. You'll also see a bit more of Harry, possibly with Draco.  
_


	6. To Love and Bear

_**Author's Note**__: Some people who got to see scenes in this chapter early, found the Lucius scene a bit much for them. There is also more discussion in this chapter about the abuse that both Victoria and Julie suffered._

_I'd like to thank the following people for their help on this chapter: dragonbard, fibinaci, Jim Trigg, Alun Lewis, Alysson deMerel, Yamaban, and Wolfkin_

* * *

**Chapter Five: **To Love and Bear

Draco Malfoy could tell that it wasn't wise to get between the reunion of Victoria and Julie. The moment that Julie had spotted her older sister, she had broken into a run, resulting in an impact that had Draco worrying that his half sister would be having the baby right then and there.

So he stood back, leaning against the archway, watching them hug. He'd never experienced a reunion with siblings, having had none, half or otherwise, that he knew until he'd found out about Victoria. He figured that Julie and Victoria had much more reason to talk than he had to introduce himself to his half sister for the first time as her brother.

As he stood there, he thought he saw a glimpse of someone, a brief mirage of a boy joining the hug. The mirage disappeared, leaving Draco thinking that he had missed something important. He stretched out against the archway, his eyes on his sisters. That was the best term for them, even if Julie didn't share any of his blood.

"I wish I wasn't an only child," a familiar voice said.

Draco turned to confirm that his class rival, Harry Potter was sitting in a chair right beside the arch, inside the room that his sisters were meeting.

"Be careful what you wish for, Potter," Draco replied. "I once said that, and a couple days ago I ended up changing my toddler brother's diapers. He peed on me, too."

Harry chuckled. Draco wondered why the Gryffindor Golden Boy was here, at the same place that Victoria was. She was there to meet the muggle Child Protective Services.

"Laugh now, Potter," Draco said, folding his arms. "Granger is probably having a boy, and he will get you."

"I'll take it," Harry said. "I don't have a family, really. Getting peed on while changing diapers sounds like a small price to pay for a real family that loves you."

It was like the lightning bolt that everyone said Harry's scar was like hit Draco, with those words. Harry Potter had to be there because whoever had been his guardians were abusing him. He'd heard that Potter lived with his aunt and uncle, possibly with a cousin. There was a rumor going around that the oaf of a grounds keeper had turned the cousin into a pig.

"Yeah, maybe," Draco replied. "I don't think I'm going to be able to interrupt those two to introduce myself to Victoria as her half brother, any time soon."

Potter looked across the room, and Draco followed his gaze. From the words he caught, it sounded like the two were starting on a complete recap of what had happened since September. "Not likely," Potter said. "So, those are your sisters?"

"Newly discovered," Draco said. "Apparently my father had another wife that my grandfather forced him to part with. Victoria's a half sister. Julie, Judith, and Joseph are her half sisters, but father is going to bring them into the family."

"You're lucky, Malfoy," Potter said, wistfully.

"Maybe," Draco said. "I reserve the right to claim otherwise, later. Especially with the chess shark otherwise known as Judith. Tell me, Potter, do you know how to play chess."

"Only how to lose to Ron," Potter said. "My record has to be naught to a hundred by now."

"I might have to seek out Weasley for tips," Draco said. "Judith's only three, but she's beaten me four times while I minded her while her mother was busy."

"Maybe," Potter said, going silent for a few minutes.

Draco looked down at Potter. He was apparently leafing his way through an ingredient preparation book. It was obvious that he wasn't looking at a single page. "So, Potter, how is Dumbledore as at teaching Potions?"

"He's great," Potter replied. "He makes it so interesting, and he's a lot more helpful that Professor Snape."

"Really?" Draco said. "I always find Professor Snape helpful during his office hours."

"Maybe he is," Potter said. "I never knew he gave help after class."

"It's when you're supposed to ask for help when you don't want to mess up in class," Draco said. "Though, I wish I could join you. Dumbledore is suppose to be a genius with potions and alchemy. He might have been a Transfiguration Professor, but he could probably teach most classes. Studying under him, even for a first year class, there are people who would promise their first born for the privilege."

"Not me, not mine," Potter replied.

"Well, I guess your first born is a bit more immediate than most of our class's," Draco said. "Granger probably would kill you if you tried."

"Probably," Potter said. "Though she seems to think that being expelled is worse than death."

"She would," Draco said, smiling. Then, seeing his sisters still talking, he took a deep breath. There was something he had been thinking off since he'd met his sisters. He looked right into Potter's gaze. "Potter, I feel I need to apologize for my behavior this past term. In particular, I would like to apologize for my many insults to your friends and to the mother of your child to be."

Draco waited for a response, any response. It seemed like the whole room had frozen, the moment he'd spoke. Potter looked down at his feet, then up to meet Draco's gaze again.

"Try not to do it again," Potter said, before looking back down at the book in his lap.

"I'll try," Draco said.

"There is no try," Victoria suddenly spoke loudly from across the room. "Do or do not, brother."

"Sacrilege!" Julie said. "This is a Trekkie household!"

"It's a good quote, Julie," Victoria said. "Plus, I thought you were trying to convert us to Whovians."

"Powell killed Doctor Who," Julie said. "Over a year of no new episodes, and no real prospect of return ... I can still watch Star Trek. I like the new captain."

"What are you talking about?" Draco asked.

"Don't get involved in the Science Fiction fandom wars, Draco," Harry said. "Star Trek, Star Wars, it doesn't matter. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."

* * *

Lucius Malfoy had spent a good part of his morning sitting in the back of a London Muggle Courtroom. He'd spent most of it paging through a top bound muggle notebook that his daughter had passed along to him, while waiting for the defendant in question to arrive to hear his amended charges. He wanted to wrap everything up before Erlene brought her children to Malfoy Manor in the evening.

He wasn't alone. He was sure that the defendant wouldn't want to see his companion. Several times he'd felt his companion's cold anger at the defendant's statements and lack of concern at the possibility of punishment.

Even as Lucius sat in the open front seat, under invisibility cloak as the police cruiser took the defendant back to jail, the defendant sat back, unconcerned. The man believed that he had and could get away with murder.

But once the cell door closed behind him, everything changed.

"Hello Daddy," came the ghost's voice from right next to the prisoner's right ear. "Remember me?" The spectral image of a young five-year-old boy appeared next to him, floating.

"Junior!" the prisoner shouted. Jumping upwards, and nearly managing to land on the bunk, before tumbling to the floor.

Lucius removed his invisibility cloak as the prisoner winced in the sudden pain of bad landing on his behind. "Yes, Fenton," Lucius said. "Remember your son, Fenton Price Junior, the boy you killed with a casual backhanding when he stepped in front of his sister. His sister that you intended to, and quite often did beat and mistreat. His sister that you later raped.

"I think Junior wants to talk to you. I think he wants to vent a little, so he doesn't have to spend all eternity with regrets about might have beens."

"Who are you?" Fenton asked, crab walking back to put his back against the cell door.

"Lucius Malfoy, Erlene's first husband," Lucius said, raising his wand. He'd chosen not to arrive with it in his cane. Pulling it out of there to use took too much time. Wordlessly, he made the tip glow a bright emerald green.

"You're going to kill me," Fenton said, as Junior squatted down next to his father.

Lucius smiled. He'd used the trick many times to frighten victims of the Dark Lord. Once, just the glowing green light had frightened an elderly man to death. He didn't think Fenton's heart was that weak. "You may wish I would. Junior, you may proceed."

"Daddy. I want you to remember me," Junior said, beginning a litany that he'd rehearsed with Lucius. "I want you to remember how I looked that summer. The joy I had when you took Julie and me to the playground. Remember how that all changed. Remember how you punched my body into the dresser when I tried to stop you from beating Julie again. You killed me before I even hit the dresser, but remember the sound of my neck breaking when it impacted the edge of the dresser. Remember your panic at my unmoving form. Remember how you threw me off the balcony, trying to cover how you killed me.

"Remember how that bad man got you off? The bad man isn't going to help you anymore. I was at the bad man's place when Victoria, Mummy, and Draco's Mummy sent him to the punishment beyond. The bad man is in a really bad place now. Someday, you'll be in that bad place too.

"Now, though, Daddy, every time you try to go to sleep, you're going to hear me calling, 'Daddy,' and then hear the sound of my neck breaking. You're going to hear Julie cry over and over again that you killed Junior. You might even see me again, waving good bye."

Lucius looked at the cowering, sweeting, murderer. He felt no pity. "Junior, you are done here. Go to the Manor and see that everything is ready for your sisters and brother."

Junior stood up and looked at Lucius. "Yes father," he said, before taking one last look at the man he was named after and fading to invisibility.

"Now that Junior is gone, and I do not have to worry about sullying that little boy and his future further, I can move on to your punishment," Lucius said, with a long practiced menacing tone.

"He's dead, you can't do anything about his future," Fenton said, with bravado.

Lucius shook his head. "No, that spirit still has a chance for return to life. Like a phoenix, he may yet rise from the ashes. It will be Julie's choice, and I do not think she would wish any further darkening of her twin's soul."

Then Lucius's eyes bore into Fenton's. "You, however, are a dark soul, a soul so dark that it rivals that of the Dark Lord and that of my late father. I do not wish to take upon myself your final judgement, yet my own daughter took upon herself the final judgement of my enslaving father. She left the world a better place, when she consigned his soul to the depths of a world that makes what you consider hell, seem like heaven.

"I do not come here unknowing of your past. I know how at eight you put a girl in the hospital after nearly choking her to death. When you were in your teens, you were accused of raping six young girls. Somehow you got away with that, and probably more. You sent the father of one of those girls to his death off the Iron Bridge, and left the family destitute.

"I know you did that and more. Each time you got away with it. Abraxas found you. You must have been a dream come true for him. He probably told you that you were the son he wished he had. He gave you Erlene. He arranged your 'marriage' to her. He even found a way around the infidelity prevention charms of our marriage.

"You see, you've been bragging how you keep Erlene having children. There is just one tiny little problem. You remember when you were sixteen, when that father, the one that you later sent over the side of the Iron Bridge, confronted you? Remember how he kneed you in the crotch so hard that it put you in the hospital for a week?

"He busted your balls, and you haven't been able to put much of your own seed in a woman since. That's why you arranged to kill him. But then Abraxas came, and he promised you an amazing recovery. He made you bigger and better than you ever were. Except for one tiny little thing. That wasn't your seed that went in Erlene. Your seed, what little you still can produce, can't enter Erlene. It is possible that your seed might be responsible for Victoria's child. The rest of it, Abraxas stole from me.

"You see, that little boy you killed, those girls you abused, thinking that they were your own. They weren't. They were mine. You took one of my own children's life. You raped my daughters. I have every right to see that you end up dead for what you have done to my family.

"I promised myself, when Victoria saved me from my father's demonic domination, that I would not go down the dark path again. It would no longer dominate my life. When I found out what you did, I considered cursing you so every nerve in your body reported pain. I felt like making you cut off your cock, forcing you to consume it, then make you disembowel yourself to try to retrieve it. I considered using the last unforgivable curse to end your life at its most painful moment."

Lucius ended the spell that was making the tip of his wand glow green. "I am a human being with the blood of a million savage years on my hands. I can admit that I am a killer ... but I'm not going to kill today. Know that I'm not going to kill ... today. I will, however, get my pound of flesh.

"Sectumsempra!"

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy had never seen her son like he was after he returned from Erlene's. Her little blond dragon was sitting on the window seat in an otherwise empty suite. She'd arrived in the room after hearing his shoes scuffing the wall on one side of the window. As she approached him, she noted his sour defeated expression.

"What's wrong, my little dragon?" she asked, conjuring a chair so she could sit next to him.

At first, Draco didn't respond, just continuing to kick the wall. The finally, he huffed and said, "It's not fair. It's not right."

"What isn't fair or right?" Narcissa asked.

"Julie, she's this smart girl, kind of funny sometimes, knows everything about everything, but isn't arrogant about it. She should have everything, but she lives a place almost as bad as the Cratchetts. Then everything bad has happened to her. You know she used to have a twin brother, Fenton, though she called him Junior? She told me all about him. He died on their mother's birthday when they were five because he was trying to protect Julie from their father.

"She tries to put up this big front like she's perfectly normal. She's not. She can't be. The potion you gave her might have helped her a little, but when she's asleep, she still cries. She still has nightmares. She still asks why no one could protect her."

Draco punched one of the pillows on the window seat, tears now following down his cheeks.

"Why did her father do that to her? Why did he rape Victoria and Julie? Why did he beat his children? Why did he kill his son? Why did it have to happen to Julie?"

Narcissa gathered her son into her arms. Even with how much he'd grown, he still fit comfortably in her lap. She let him cry, hugging him tightly as the tears turned into sobs, his whole body shuddering as his sorrow overtook him.

Then, as the tears began to slow, Narcissa gently lifted her son's chin, looking into his tear stained eyes. "I wish I could tell you that I knew entirely why. I wish I could say that I knew everyone responsible, Draco," she said, softly. "I know some of the reasons. I know that your grandfather, whose name shall no longer be spoken in the manor, ripped your father from her mother's side. I know that he searched for and made sure Erlene was bound to the man who called himself Julie's father.

"But that does not explain Fenton Price's depravities, ones whose roots existed long before he and Erlene met. There is true evil in the world, Draco. I wished you hadn't encountered what it left behind. The Malfoy family has been touched by that evil. We have lived in its shadow. I hope what we have done, and will do, this Yule may bring us some bit of redemption.

"Later this evening, Victoria, Julie, Judith, and Joseph will be moving in. Erlene and I have already packed up their apartment. Victoria, and probably Julie, will still need to go back to Kingston to speak to CPS. I expect you to treat them well. They are your sisters and brother."

Draco sat up straight in his mother's lap, sniffing a bit before he said, "Will Julie and Judith be getting their own suites? Victoria has to."

"I'm not sure about Judith," Narcissa said. "She might stay the nursery with Joseph a while. Julie will certainly get her own room. Why?"

"Don't put her in this one," Draco said. "Put Julie next to mine, in the one that shares the balcony, and has the door to mine."

"And why do you want her that close?" Narcissa asked, curious.

"I'm going to be her brother now," Draco said, standing, his tears now just drying tracks, as his face took on an expression of determination. "That means I have to protect her, stand up for her, and comfort her when she cries or has nightmares. It's what she expects from a brother. It's what she got from her twin brother."

"You have a lot to live up to, then," Narcissa said, giving her son a hug, before standing. She vanished the chair, and turned to walk out of the suite, her arm around her son's shoulders. "Now, I understand you were watching some muggle telly program before I came to pick you up, and apparently enjoying it."

"It was one of Victoria's tapes," Draco said. "Julie said she needed something funny after 'A Christmas Carol.' I don't think I understood it entirely. It was about a grain shipment that was being eaten by these constantly multiplying puffleskeins, not that they called them that, only it turned out that the grain was poisoned by an enemy race."

"How was that funny?" Narcissa asked, as they walked down the hall way.

"I didn't understand it all," Draco replied, as they reached the empty suite next to his. "Julie said I didn't need to, it was just fun to watch, and if I really wanted to know what was going on, I should talk to Victoria. She was right. There was this bar fight, and then the captain got buried in puffleskeins ... I really can't explain it ... we just laughed through it."

"I see," Narcissa said, though she really didn't see. She opened the door and they entered the mostly empty suite next to Draco's. "We'll want to just set up the basics for Julie first. She should get to set up as much as possible in her room. We do need to at least pick a color, and get a bed, first. I do know that crimson is not a color she likes."

"Cream and gold," said a voice that Narcissa had never heard. She turned toward the source, and found a ghost of a boy who looked about five years old. He reminded Narcissa a bit of Draco when he was that age, though Draco had never had such an unruly haircut.

"Junior?" Draco asked, as if he had seen the ghost boy somewhere before.

"Recognized me from one picture, you're good," the ghost boy said, before turning to look at Narcissa. He was wearing a turtle neck shirt, jeans, but had bare feet. All of his clothes appeared to be wet. "In the muggle world, in life, I was known as Junior, Fenton Price, Junior, everyone called me Junior, and I no longer answer to the name I shared with my father in life."

"You've been watching over Julie, like she said she dreamed you were," Draco stated.

"I couldn't leave my twin behind, especially when she was being hurt," Junior said. "I couldn't let her see me though, not in the muggle world. I couldn't do anything to help her either, not until Vicky-oreo found a way for me to possess John Brown Bear."

"You made the bear wake me up when she had that nightmare," Draco said.

"Yes," Junior said. "She needed someone to hold her, to tell her everything was okay now. I can't do that, even in the bear. You can, Draco. Be my twin's big brother." The ghost paused for a bit, his eyes locked with Draco's. "And if you fail at that, I'll haunt you until you do."

Draco nodded, and looked back at Narcissa, and then back at the ghost "Come on, Junior. We've got to make this Julie's dream room."

"Indeed," Narcissa said. "And since Julie will be living here, in the Wizarding World, I expect you to be waiting for her when she arrives."

"You mean, I can stay here?" Junior asked, ghostly tears in his eyes. "I've never really had a home, in life or after life."

"I insist," Narcissa said. "Now, what type of bed should Julie have?"

"A sleigh bed," Junior said. "She's always wanted a sleigh bed."

* * *

Erlene had a few things she wanted to check before she picked Victoria and Julie up. She'd already deposited Judith and Joseph in the nursery, where they were both busy trying out the large collection of toys. Or at least Joseph was. Draco had been snared by Judith for a game of chess. Erlene was beginning to regret teaching her youngest daughter the game. She was a bit obsessive and loved to catch someone who didn't know she could play.

It was important that the rooms that were assigned to Victoria and Julie were suitable. They could be changed, but it was better if they started out as being a bit plain, but in styles and colors that the two would prefer. Erlene felt it was important that they be different, as well. Victoria had been sharing her room with Julie, since the move to the latest apartment.

All three of the older children, Victoria, Draco, and Julie, would be on the second floor of the East Wing of the manor. The Master Suite was in the West Wing with the grand entry and public rooms between them. Draco's room was located on the North side of the wing, and her brief glance into her sister-wife's son's room revealed a long settled room of a young Slytherin, complete with the requisite green and silver that seems to dominate every pure-blood scion whose family had a history of being Slytherin.

A sign on the door opposite Draco's welcomed Victoria to her new home. Erlene smiled at Draco's gesture to his older sister, as she pushed the door open. Where Draco's room had been a deep forest green and silver, Victoria's was in a slightly different palette. As any young lady, like her daughter, required a formal sitting room, Victoria's had an emerald green wainscot with butter-colored panels above. There were two chairs, and a small table, already. Erlene passed through another door and entered the bedchamber. The butter-colored panels continued, now full length. A dark wood dresser with a round mirror was against one wall, but the real feature of the room was the bed. It was a classic canopy bed, with the same matching dark wood. The bedding was a full emerald hue, satin with gold thread crossing in a diamond pattern. A matching bassinet was already placed at its foot, and a pair of bedside tables on either side.

Erlene looked around the room carefully. The butter color wasn't to her personal taste, and she judged that Victoria would probably want to change quite a bit. It was good foundation, though.

Erlene left back through the sitting room, not bothering to check the bathroom. She went down the hall, a bit. She'd expected Julie's room to be next to Victoria's, but it seemed that Draco had changed the plan, judging from his welcome note on the suite next to his. Erlene did a double take, and had to read it again.

"Julie! Welcome to Malfoy Manor. We hope you enjoy your new room. We made it up especially for you. Draco &amp; Junior."

Junior. That was a word, a name, that Erlene had not dared speak for over two years now. Not since that day when she'd come home from her job as a waitress to discover that her son, twin to Julie, had fallen off the balcony of the fifth floor apartment that they were living in at the time. She'd suspected that the story that Fenton had told her wasn't true, but he'd frightened her so much over the years that she hadn't questioned his story, even though it looked like Julie wanted to say something else had happened.

Julie had been devastated. In fact she hadn't spoken at all until Victoria had come home from Hogwarts for Christmas. That's when John Brown Bear had entered the household. Fenton never seemed to be comfortable when one of her daughters brought that stuffed bear with them into a room. Julie had poured her soul out to that bear, much like she used to talk to her twin brother.

The sitting room was mostly empty, except for a chaise lounge, with a puffleskein sitting on it. There was a piece of paper labeling the creature as "tribble." Erlene broke into laughter at the label. The room was painted in cream and gold, a classic look for a room in the manor. The door, however, was painted a bright red. It slid open from the middle silently as she approached.

Erlene found the bedroom to be Julie. There was no other word for it. It was in the same cream and gold as the sitting room. There was a desk jutting out from one wall, set so you could look out the french doors to the balcony when you were seated at it. The bed was a sleigh bed, piled high with covers. There was a lamp that swung out above the bed, perfect for Julie's night time reading. There was a night stand next to the bed, a copy of _Mister Scott's Guide to the Enterprise_ waiting for her to open, as apparently an early Christmas present.

A free standing mirror was next to the door, but it was what was over the fireplace, directly opposite the bed that caught Erlene's attention.

On a background of a glowing yellow galaxy, stars and planets surrounding it, was a very familiar starship. If Erlene wasn't mistaken, someone had copied the painting from Captain Picard's Ready Room.

There was a chair next to the fireplace, adding to the eclectic mix by being a recliner. It reminded Erlene of the chair that she'd once read books to Julie and Junior in. She couldn't stop herself from sitting down for a moment in the chair, feeling the warmth of the fire. She almost thought it was a memory, when she heard the voice of a young boy.

"Can you read me a story, Mommy?"

She looked up, and for the first time saw the spectral vision of her eldest son. "Junior?"

"Yes, Mommy?"

"What happened to you?"

"Daddy killed me and I became a ghost," the ghost boy said in a matter of a fact tone, before making an expression that Erlene used to call his thinking pose. "Vicky-oreo said it might not be forever though. Something about a crux that Julie has. A bad man who used to live here prevented me from showing myself to anyone other than Vicky-oreo. I was so mad when I couldn't tell anyone else what happened to me. She did manage to get me to see Julie in John Brown Bear."

"So, you kept protecting Julie, as much as you could as the bear."

The ghost boy nodded his head. "Daddy was really scared of the bear. Now though, Draco is protecting Julie, and you've got another little baby boy. I guess I'll have to go away, and I just got to see everyone again. You don't need me anymore."

"Oh no, Junior," Erlene said. "We can never replace you. There will always be a hole in our hearts that only you can fill."

"Really Mommy?" Junior asked, moving to sit in his mother's lap.

"Yes, Junior," Erlene said. She could almost feel his legs and bottom in her lap

"Then when Julie or Judith asks for a story, can I come listen to you read?" Junior said, placing his head against her shoulder.

Erlene had always heard that the touch of a ghost was cold, but Junior's touch wasn't cold. In fact she felt warmth where he was against her. "Any time, Junior, anytime."

* * *

Julie could not believe that she now had her own rooms. Not just room, but rooms. It said so right beside the door, "Juliet Antonia Malfoy." It was going to take some getting used to signing Malfoy instead of Price. And if Draco ever called her Juliet again, she was going to strangle him. She was Julie, and that was that.

There was a welcome message on the door, but Julie barely read it. Instead she barreled through the door. The first room was something called a private sitting room. It had a table and a sofa. And a tribble, who could forget the nicely labeled tribble sitting there. It was nice. Julie barely heard Narcissa say something about adding things to suit when the red door to her bedroom slid open at her approach.

Her new bedroom had everything she ever wanted. There was sleigh bed. There was a big fireplace. There was a desk looking out doors to the balcony! There was a swinging light so she could read in bed, and a reclining chair for her by the fire. Above the fire place was Captain Picard's Ready Room painting!

Julie could not resist running up and jumping onto her bed. As she flopped onto the bed, and looked up to the ceiling she discovered that it looked like you were looking up at the stars. "Wow. And this is all my room?" Julie asked.

"Plus the bathroom behind that door," Draco said, smiling. "The other door goes to my room."

"My own bathroom too!" Julie exclaimed. Back at their old apartment, all six of them had to share the same small bathroom. She got off her bed, and headed right for the bathroom.

The bathroom was even better than Julie had dreamed. There was a sink with plenty of space next to it for her to put her stuff. She had her own toilet. No more waiting for one of the toddlers to get off it! There was a big tub, already filled with warm water for her bath. There was a spout labeled bubble bath! She could barely wait for bath time.

She returned to her bedroom with a smile that she was sure was going to break her face. She'd only taken a couple steps into the room when she heard the voice.

"You like it Julie?" it was a voice she'd thought she'd never hear again, the voice of her twin brother. "I helped Draco and the house elves set it up."

Julie turned towards the voice, and spotted the spectral form of her brother, looking just like he had, right before their father had killed him. "Junior!" she said bounding over to his side.

She had heard that you went right through ghosts, so she was prepared for her hug to go right though him ... but it didn't.

"I told you, Mum, Junior is no ordinary ghost," Victoria said.

Julie did not break her hug as she felt Junior still five year old body pressed against her. She felt a bit like a tendril connected them through her belly button. "I missed you Junior."

"I know," Junior said. "Vicky-oreo found a way for me to be in John Brown Bear. The bad wizard wouldn't let me appear to anyone other than Vicky-oreo and him. Then Vicky-oreo and the mummies banished him, and now I don't have'ta hide anymore."

"You mean your heard everything I said to John Brown Bear," Julie said finally ending her hug. She felt a tug on her navel as Junior stepped back.

"Not everything," Junior admitted. "Sometimes I was visiting Vicky-oreo, but most everything. You do owe me lots of stories now. Starting with Dragonsong. It my favorite, and I can't touch the book."

"I think I saw the copy in Victoria's Room," Erlene said. "Accio Dragonsong hardback!" Moments later the book came flying into the room to land in Julie's mother's hand. "Up on the bed, both of you. I don't think either of you will mind if I read you the first chapter?"

Julie shook her head in unison with her twin for the first time in more than two years. It did not take long for them to get up on Julie's bed.

"Mum, before you get into the book," Victoria interrupted, "I need Junior to promise that he won't try to go through Julie. In fact, it would be best if he avoided going through anyone."

"It's hard not to, Vicky-oreo, at least with Julie," Junior said. "She kind of pulls me."

"I know, Junior, but there is something different about your connection to Julie," Victoria said. "My friend Penny, you might remember her from when she came over after my first year, Mum? She thinks that you're a special kind of spirit, and that we might be able to get you back. We're not entirely sure, but I don't want you to risk it until then. You can touch Julie, and hug her, but no going into and through her, little F."

"Okay, Victoria," Junior said seriously, before settling down next to Julie on the bed. Their mother sat down beside Julie.

"Mind if I stay?" Draco asked. "I've never heard this story before."

"I've heard this story, and I'm staying," Victoria said. "It's not often I get to hear Mum read a story any more. I'll take the chair though. You can have the foot of the bed, Draco."

Once everyone settled down, Draco laying across the foot of the bed, Julie and Junior next to their mother, and Victoria in the reclining chair that she pulled over next to the bed, Erlene began to read.

"Drummer, beat, and piper, blow  
Harper, strike, and soldier, go  
Free the flame and sear the gasses  
Til the dawning star passes

"Almost if the elements, too, mourned the passing of the old Harper, a Southeaster blew for three days, trapping even the burial barge in the safety of the Docking Cavern.

"The storm gave Seaholder Yanus too much time to brood over his dilemma. It gave him time to speak to every man who could keep rhythm and pitch, and they all gave him the same answer. They couldn't properly honor the Old Harper with his death song, but Menolly could..."

* * *

_The last three paragraphs of this chapter are the first three paragraphs of chapter one of Anne McCaffrey's _Dragonsong_. A recent reprint with a new cover has recently hit the bookstores. If you don't have a copy, get one. Especially if you've got a young girl who loves to listen to you read to her, or reads a lot herself. The tale of young Menolly is one that a young girl will especially find gratifying. All of those young ladies who have been my _Marrissa Stories_ young girl betas have agreed._


	7. From its own wreak

_**Author's Note:**__ The muse is really giving me a lot of this story lately. It looks like it will actually end up with more chapters than I originally projected for this winter break story. It should be noted, however, that the Malfoy story will be continuing after this story in another story that has been tenatively titled _Prometheus Reborn_._

_I'd like to thank the following people for their help on this chapter: Yamaban, fibinaci, slickRCBD, Jim Trigg, Jonas, and Brad Coleman_

* * *

**Chapter Six:** From its own wreak

Erlene awoke naked in Lucius Malfoy's arms for the first time since Victoria was conceived. It was a different feeling than that morning, more than a decade ago. Some things hadn't changed. Lucius still turned on his right side in the night, and he always awoke ready. Erlene had chosen to sleep on Lucuis's right, leaving Narcissa on his left, for that reason. She knew that she would end up benefitting from this fact.

Erlene pushed her behind up against her husband, feeling the reaction of his body against it. His arms suddenly pulled her closer.

"So, you still want to begin the day like this," Lucius growled softly in her ear.

Erlene was about to respond when suddenly the events of the last few days hit her. In the arms of Lucius, she was safe. She didn't need to worry about Fenton beating her. She didn't need to worry about what he'd do to Victoria and Julie.

Tears began to pool in Erlene's eyes.

She'd actually tucked all of her living children in their beds at night, for the first time in years. Even Victoria had asked for it, after she'd tucked Julie in, having enjoyed a second chapter of _Dragonsong_. Narcissa had carried Draco back to his room to do likewise. Judith and Joseph had curled up together, the toddler spooned up against his three-year-old sister.

Tears began to leak down her face.

Erlene wouldn't have to get up early to prepare a meager breakfast for her growing children. She wouldn't have to go out to work in a dingy pub with drunken customers to earn a few extra pounds so she could afford to get another outfit for Julie so she wouldn't be teased for wearing the same outfit too often. She wouldn't have to deal with a drunken man demanding that she do her "wifely duties," never mind that he would end up collapsing on her without even managing to drop his trousers.

She started to sob, just as Lucius turned her in his arms.

Erlene finally felt safe. Her greatest worries, that had kept her up late, were gone. True, Victoria was still pregnant. Julie had been raped. Junior was still dead ... but Junior was still around as a spirit. Julie was smiling and enjoying her new room and big brother Draco. Victoria was intent on becoming first in her year, despite her pregnancy. Only Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor was ahead of her, so it was possible.

"What is wrong, my Erlene?" Lucius asked, as Erlene buried her head against Lucius's shoulder.

Erlene couldn't respond, her tears fell faster and her sobbing grew louder. Erlene dissolved into tears again, her vision closing in. Her whole body shook in Lucius's arms.

Narcissa's face appeared over Lucius shoulder. "Just hold her Lucius. Just hold her."

Lucius held her, naked body against naked body, the warm blankets covering them. Erlene couldn't stop crying, even though she felt safe for the first time in her life.

* * *

Draco Malfoy had been detailed to take his new younger sisters on their first trip to Diagon Alley. His mother had informed him of that early in the morning, as she brought Judith and Joseph to breakfast. Draco had shown Victoria and Julie the way. He got the impression that his mother hadn't planned on Judith joining Draco and Julie. Victoria was going to the alley too, but she had a fitting at MacTavish's and who knew how long that would take.

At least she'd helped Judith through the flue. He'd been a little afraid that his littlest sister would pronounce "Diagon Alley" wrong and end up someplace like Borgan and Burkes. Though the place had a lot of neat stuff, it was also scary and dangerous. As soon as Victoria pealed off for MacTavish's, Draco bent down to remind Judith of the rules.

"Remember, Judith," he said. "You are to keep next to, and if possible holding hands with me or Julie. If you can't see anyone of us, stay put and call out my name. I'll call yours, and we'll play that Marco Polo game until we find each other, like Victoria suggested at breakfast, okay?"

"Okay Draco!" Judith said with enthusiasm. "Can we go to the toy store first?"

"No, we're going to shop for the parents, first," Draco said. "We get that out of the way, and we can spend all of the remaining time in the toy store ... save maybe a trip for ice cream before we go home."

"Okay," Judith said. "What do we get for mummy, Julie?"

"Well, we usually get her a charm for her bracelet, one for each of us," Julie said.

"Does your mother have a locket?" Draco asked.

"No, not that I know of," Julie replied.

"Do you have a good picture of Junior?" Draco asked.

"His school picture," Julie replied. "It's the only really good one though. I keep a copy in my wallet."

"Then, I have the perfect gift," Draco said, pulling his sisters into a shop whose banner read 'Memorables Portraiture.'

* * *

Since Victoria had started showing, she'd gotten used to being shunned. So, she wasn't surprised that no one greeted her when she entered MacTavish's. She was wearing her school robes, after all. They were second hand, and hadn't fit her well, even before she'd had to alter them herself as her pregnancy progressed. Several seamstresses hurried away rather than approach her. She tried to not let it bother her. Instead, she adjusted her robes a bit, with the advanced state of her pregnancy, that was a nearly constant thing, and strode up to the counter.

"I believe I have an appointment for ten fifteen," she said firmly, as her eyes met the seamstress behind the counter. No one was looking at her, or had greeted her.

"And you are?" the seamstress said with distaste. It was obvious to Victoria that the seamstress thought there was no way that the riffraff that stood in front of her could have an appointment. "We are quite heavily booked at the moment."

"Victoria ... " Victoria began, but before she could even give her new last name, the curtain behind her split open.

"Miss Malfoy!" Master Tailor Elim said, as he emerged from behind the curtain. "Madam Narcissa's description of thy beauty doth not do you justice. Miss Greta! Bring the selections I put aside from the earlier Malfoy appointment."

"I'm not beautiful, Master Elim," Victoria said, finding herself suddenly blushing, her aggravation at being ignored draining away.

"Nonsense," Master Elim replied, directing her to a fitting room "True, those poorly fitted school robes do nothing for you, but school robes rarely do. Miss Hester! the better school robe black better be in your hands. Miss Victoria is not leaving this shop in such poorly fitted robes."

"I had to alter them myself," Victoria said, looking down at her uneven hems. "I couldn't afford or get to Gladrags to alter them."

Master Elim took another look up and down Victoria's robes. "You are a third year?"

Victoria nodded.

"Then I must compliment you on your work, as I could not do half as well at your age," Master Elim said. "Now, your sister said she didn't like crimson. Do your share her dislike?"

"I have no problem with crimson, but I'm a Slytherin, and I'd prefer shades of our colors for my debut as a Malfoy," Victoria said. "Do not dare bring anything olive, however, or I may use my case of morning sickness as an excuse."

"Miss Victoria, I consider myself forewarned," Master Elim said, pulling out his tape. "Now, let me get proper measurements. I shall, of course, build in a proper amount of adjustments, and after you have your child, please come back for proper adjustments. One's debut dress should be fitting for some time, even if just to put on to look pretty for a while."

Victoria nodded as the tailor began to measure her.

"Now, how do you feel about Celtic patterns," Master Elim asked.

"I've always liked them," Victoria responded.

"Then I think I have the perfect design for you," the master tailor said. With his wand he conjured an image.

Victoria looked at the image of her in a green and silver dress with Celtic knots, and silver dragons closures. "It's good." she said, as the dress rotated in front of her, "but how does it look if you shift the color towards blue green, I think it's called shamrock?"

Master Elim twisted his wand, and the color changed.

"Now it's perfect," Victoria said.

"Indeed, I shall take charge of its production personally, Miss Victoria," Master Elim said. "I personally shall be on hand at the ball for last minute adjustments. Now, Miss Victoria, I believe this is your first time at MacTavish's, which means I have been neglecting in my duties." He pulled a cloth rose, like the one he'd given to Julie from his sleeve. "A rose for a true beauty."

Victoria blushed.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy paced outside his bedroom. Erlene had collapsed shortly after her children had left for Christmas shopping. He wasn't sure what was happening to his first wife. He'd taken her back to his bedroom, and tried to comfort her through another crying spell. Then Narcissa had arrived with Healer Willard Bliss. He'd been kicked out of the room, and Narcissa had soon followed.

The door opened, and Healer Bliss quietly exited. Lucius wanted to say something, to ask what was going wrong with his Erlene. He couldn't get the words out of his mouth, no matter how much he wanted to know. Healer Bliss motioned them to a nearby empty room.

"Lord Malfoy, the first thing I have to say, is that I believe that Erlene is going to recover, eventually," Healer Bliss began, allowing Lucius to release a breath that he hadn't been aware that he was holding. "She's suffering from the withdrawal of dark curses, as well as the effects of control potions. That's before we get to the issues of living a long time with a man who beat and raped her. She feels that she couldn't protect her children, given what happened to Miss Victoria and Miss Julie.

"I've prescribed a course of cheering and other potions to prevent depression. These are somewhat addictive, so do not enable her to get more than what I have prescribed. A cheering charm should be used if she appears to be becoming listless. Let her sleep until around dinner time, tonight. She may have trouble falling asleep tonight, but do not give her any potion or charm tonight for that. I shall be back on Boxing Day for a follow up examination."

"Thank you Healer," Lucius said, a slight tremble in his voice. "Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"She's likely to seek out physical contact for the next few weeks," the Healer said. "Make sure someone is always around her. It would be a good idea, if they can do it honestly, for her children to booster her spirits by complimenting her for things she does for them. I particularly recommend that she continue any bedtime stories she might have in progress, and tuck each child in. If you can get Master Draco and Miss Victoria involved, it would be a plus. She's more likely to trust their opinions of her mothering abilities than the youngers."

"Well, Draco certainly wants to hear more of _Dragonsong_," Narcissa commented. "I don't know about Victoria, though."

"Talk to her when they return from Diagon Alley," Lucius said.

"One more thing, Lord Malfoy," Healer Bliss said. "Do not turn down any of Lady Erlene's advances. You must honestly respond positively to her. It is most important. I realize that you have two ladies to satisfy now, but it is of the most importance for Erlene's mental health that she believe that you want her. Right now, her health better be the most important item in your life. She needs to live."

* * *

Narcissa watched as the children tumbled out of the flue. It looked like they'd paired up through it, just like any sensible group of children should. Draco and Judith tumbled out first, followed by Victoria and Julie. Draco appeared to have been dragooned into carrying the gift wrapped packages. They'd at least followed her advice on that, given how close it was to Christmas.

"Draco," Narcissa began, "I assume you enjoyed your time in Diagon, and all your purchases have been made."

"Yes Mother," Draco said, in a dry tone that Narcissa immediately classified as tired. "I think Julie and Judith enjoyed it much more than I did. Especially the toy store."

"And the ice cream!" Julie practically shouted. "I've never had triple berry before. It changes flavors with every bite. First it was strawberry, the blue berry, and then raspberry. It kept changing color too! Draco let me have a triple scoop!"

"And I see you'll be hyper until dinner at least," Narcissa said. "And what did you get, Judith?"

"'nilla," Judith said, stepping so she was partially hidden behind Draco.

"Plain Vanilla for your first cone in Diagon Alley," Narcissa remarked. "You did make sure she knew she could have any favor she wanted, Draco?"

"She wanted vanilla," Draco said. "The little chess master was rather insistent on it. I did get her to go for the rook shape, though."

"Everything handled, Victoria?" Narcissa asked.

"Master Elim is personally making my dress," Victoria said. "Julie's was ready, so we picked it up. He says he'll have it ready and be there for final fitting on New Year's Eve."

"That's quite an honor, Victoria. The Master Tailor at MacTavish's can pick and chose whose robes he makes, and offering to be there for final fitting on New Year's Eve ... well, you've scored quite a coup for the Malfoy New Year's Eve Ball."

"Where's Mummy?" Judith suddenly piped up.

"Your Mummy will be at dinner, Judith, so why don't you head up to your room and wash up?" Narcissa said, before noticing her ghostly brother. "I think Junior will help you find your way, won't you?"

"Yes, Mother Narcissa," Junior said, executing a bow. "Come on, Judith. I want to hear about that toy store that Draco said he was taking you to."

As soon as a door closed behind Judith, Narcissa turned to the other children. "Victoria, Julie, your mother had a break down because of what Fenton did to her, and what she failed to protect you both from. She's under a healer's care at the moment, who has informed us that she will need to feel like she can do something for you, and that she's still needed by you. If she suggests that you do something with her, try not to turn it down. That goes for you, too, Draco. She's likely to be hugging a bit more than usual, and will prefer that you don't leave her sight. Keep your mother engaged as much as possible."

"Yes Mother Narcisssa," Victoria and Julie chorused. Draco merely nodded.

"Now, go off to wash your hands as well," Narcissa said. "That tart you like is on the menu, Draco."

"Oh, you've got to try the tart," Draco said, as he led his sisters back up to their wing of the house, an arm around each of them.

Narcissa smiled at her son. He was a changed boy since he got home from school. She hoped it would be a lasting change.


	8. Contemplates

_**Author's Note:**__ There has been some comments recently made about my policy about reviews. I dislike post more only reviews because I've seen them cause authors, and myself, to rush posting of another part, making it not as good as it should be. I can't stop you from making them, but I really don't want them to effect my work. That's why I implemented the one day delay rule for when I see them on my works._

_Now as for this chapter, I would like to thank the following people for the feedback on the drafts of the scenes: Brad Coleman, Corin Wolfkin, and fibinaci._

* * *

**Chapter Seven: **Thing it Contemplates

Victoria had finally finished setting up her sitting room the way she wanted. She'd moved her desk out to there from her bedroom, and added a pair of book cases behind it. She was currently seated behind it, working on her winter break homework while waiting for Draco. She really loved her green leather chair. Her father had picked it out for her, and spent an hour carefully charming and adjusting it so that it was the most comfortable chair that the pregnant girl had ever sat in. And as for the massaging foot rest under the desk ... it was pure heaven.

The third-year had made a few decisions since she had found out that she was the Malfoy Heiress. Her father's acknowledgment of that at dinner the previous night had pushed her towards them. She was now heir to a great magical house, and would have to behave appropriately. She had duties to preform, and one of them involved her half-brother, Draco.

"Victoria? Julie said you wanted to see me," Draco said from the open door way.

"Come in, and shut the door," Victoria said, putting aside her Potion's essay. "Sit down."

The chair she'd placed in front of her desk was unadorned in any fashion. It was hard American Mahogany, imported from across the pond over a century and a half before. It was plain. It had no padding. It was just plain hard wood.

"We need to talk," Victoria began once Draco was sitting in it. "Father says I have to act like the heir now. I imagine he told the same thing to you when you left for Hogwarts." Draco nodded, and Victoria took a deep breath. "When we get back to Hogwarts, it's not going to be easy on either of us. You're no longer the Heir. You are next in line after me, and in March, you'll drop back another place when my baby is born. That fact is going to be clear to anyone by the time we get back on the Hogwarts Express.

"So, you're going to have to act differently. No more of this wait to my father hears stuff. No more strutting around like the world owes you. You shouldn't have been doing that in the first place, but now you're not the biggest fish in the pond. You might still be the biggest fish in your year, in Slytherin ... but that's only because you scared the Boy-Who-Lived away from Slytherin."

Draco looked like he was going to respond, to protest his sister's words. Victoria held up her hand.

"Don't deny it, Draco. You spent most of the autumn term going after the Gryfindor golden boy. The only way you could have upped the ante is if you joined the Quidditch team, and that's not happening ... no matter if you think getting Father to buy new brooms next year will get you on it ... and that's not happening, either. I saw your flying lessons. You're going to have to get a lot better if you want to be Slytherin's Seeker next year. And you know why I can say that."

Draco looked down at his shoes. "It's hopeless, then," Draco said, dejectedly

"What is hopeless?"

Draco was silent for a bit, his shoes scuffing the floor in front of him. Then, still looking at the floor, he spoke up. "I was proud to be sorted into Slytherin, at first. Then I remembered what Father wanted me to do, to make friends with Potter. I failed him. With him in Gryffindor, and me in Slytherin, it wasn't going to happen. Father agreed, so I felt a little better. He told me it was important for me to rule Slytherin in my year, as a result, and that I needed to rival Potter to do so.

"At first that was easy. I was the only son of the most influential Slytherin of his day. I listened to what Father had said about the other parents, and I knew I could better, that I was better."

"You rested on Father's laurels, and didn't use that brain you were gifted with," Victoria said. "I know you're smart, Draco. You're third in your year, last time I looked."

"Potter and Granger are both ahead of me," Draco said.

"Granger's a genius," Victoria dismissed. "And as for Potter, I hear he's a savant when it comes to the practical exams. But that's not the point, Draco. You're acting like a whiny little boy, saying wait until my Father comes home. You're eleven years old, act like it."

"I don't know how to," Draco said, his eyes still downcast.

"You're doing pretty well with Julie," Victoria said. "You know a lot, and the way you've been sharing with her the magical world, and helping her out is what you need to be doing. You know Crabbe and Goyle."

"Yes, they hang around me a lot," Draco said, looking up.

"Well, they're very close to failing," Victoria said. "Gemma tried to get me to tutor them in Potions, but with my baby on the way, it's not happening. I hear in Gryffindor, though, that all the First Years have been studying together, and it's really helping their grades. You're the smartest Slytherin in your year, why don't you try setting up a study group to help them and the others in your year."

"You think I can help them?" Draco asked. "I'm a Slytherin, not a Ravenclaw."

"Yes, you can," Victoria replied. "And then you'll be doing what Father expects you to be doing, to lead, to prove that Slytherin is where the leaders still come from."

"Really?" Draco asked.

"Really Draco," Victoria said, getting up, carefully. It was getting harder and harder to get up as her pregnancy progressed. "Now, let's move over to my relaxing area, and convene the Oldest Sibling Protective Society."

Victoria's relaxing area had three really comfortable loveseats. Some end tables hosted trays of her current biggest craving, liquorice wands. She waddled over and took a seat in the one closest to her bedroom door, waving her hand to indicate that Draco should take either of the others.

As Victoria picked up a liquorice wand, and bit into it, Draco said, "So what's the Oldest Sibling Protective Society."

"It's where we discuss what we need to do to help our younger siblings," Victoria said. "I used to tell Julie that it's where I learnt how to deal with her. And I need your help with her ... and Junior."

"It's kind of hard to help Junior," Draco said. "I mean he's dead."

"He might not be entirely dead," Victoria said. "I think he might not be a true ghost, but a displaced soul. If he's fully displaced, it would explain his reaction to going through part of Julie."

"She says he feels warm against her," Draco noted. "He feels cold when he accidentally goes through me. He really hates to go through people."

"That's part of the signs that he's not really a ghost, and that Julie might be why," Victoria said, picking up a liquorice wand. "I talked to Father about it, and he did a test. Julie has the seed of his displaced soul in her womb. There is a good chance that he can be reborn from it."

"How does that happen?" Draco said. "I mean once you're dead, you're dead."

"If only that were true," Victoria said. "Junior's not dead, just his body is. His soul exists, magically displaced in both his manifestation and in Julie. And it's a full soul, not a split crux of various types that Dark Lords have been known to use to keep themselves from dying." Victoria took a deep breath.

"In Junior's case, he was trying to protect his twin sister when he died. Fenton may have slammed him into that dresser, but Junior's will and magic was enough that his soul kept going back to Julie. Somehow she latched onto it, keeping him form moving on. There is a small mass, currently no bigger than an apple seed. And that's the problem."

"An apple seed isn't that big," Draco said.

"It should be half that," Victoria said. "Father is getting a specialist to look at Julie, but if I'm right, sometime in the next couple weeks, Junior is going to find himself pulled into his twin sister, and a month or so later, Junior will be born again. It probably was going to eventually happen, but she's way too young to have a baby."

"So, what can we do?" Draco asked.

"Not much," Victoria said. "If it doesn't start before we go back to Hogwarts, I'll be surprised. It is important that it happens naturally. Whatever you do, don't tell either of them. Our job, if we're there is to prevent panic ... or at least reduce it. Of course, remember what you see and write it down when time permits. Someone will want to write a paper on it. If no one else, Penelope Clearwater."

"She's probably Weasley by now," Draco said.

"True," Victoria said. "I wonder if I can get her to come to the Ball."

"A Weasley at the Malfoy New Years Eve Ball ... not happening," Draco stated. "Probably couldn't afford dress robes."

"That's why we invite Penelope and a guest," Victoria said. "Father's already inviting Potter, along with Professors McGonagall and Snape."

"Go ahead and invite the whole Weasley clan then," Draco replied. "At least Ron Weasley stayed at Hogwarts for break. He's been looking way too smugly at me lately. But invite them, their red hair is seasonal."

"Then maybe we should dye your hair green for tomorrow," Victoria said. "It's the kind of thing Junior used to try doing."

"Green hair ... as long it's temporary, it might put a smile on your mother's face," Draco smiled. "Blonde hair dyes easily."

"I know," Victoria said. "Junior dyed mine green for Christmas when he was four."

"Consider me warned," Draco replied. "Anything else I need to know about Julie or Junior?"

"Nothing critical, so perhaps I should tell you about Judith," Victoria said, before eating the last bite of her liquorice wand. "She's a chess shark. Don't let her innocent face fool you, she intends to be a grandmaster by the time she turns ten."

"Couldn't you have warned me before I minded her at your old apartment?" Draco asked. "By the time your mother got back, I was on eight out of fifteen."

"Grandmaster by ten, I said," Victoria said. "And when she gets her own wizard chess set, watch out."

"I wrapped it last night," Draco revealed. "Julie picked out the set. The black pieces are from me, the white pieces from her."

"You got her own set," Victoria said, raising her hand to her forehead. "We're all doomed.

* * *

Judith had never seen such a big Christmas tree as the one that now inhabited the Malfoy dinning room. In fact, she had never really seen a live tree in her home. It was decorated with glass balls of various colors, and a real fairies for the lights. There weren't very many presents under the tree yet, just what Victoria, Julie, and Draco had put under there.

Judith found a place on the rug in front of the fire place, where she could look up at the tree, her eyes following the fairies around. The organ at the end of the room was playing Christmas carols. Judith felt she could stay there forever, the warmth of the fire on her back. As the organ played, for the first time she could remember in her life, Judith heard a once common Christmas tradition among her older full siblings, the Christmas Eve sing-a-long.

"Angels high and low  
Tell the story of the glory

Julie and Junior's voices intertwined as they sung from opposite sides of the organ.

"Ju-bi-la-te deo  
Ju-bi-la-te deo

Judith let the sound wash over her, the words, moving from words she knew to words she knew not, and back again.

"Alleluia

"Heaven soaring stars adoring  
Tell the story of the glory

Judith imagined the fairies rising up and becoming the stars in the sky in the night.

"Ju-bi-la-te deo  
Ju-bi-la-te deo

"Jubilate deo omis terra  
Servite domino in laetitiae  
Jubilate deo omis terra  
Servite domino in laetitiae

"Ju-bi-la-te deo  
Ju-bi-la-te deo

As the song ended, Judith looked back at her older siblings, her expression begging that they continue. She smiled as Mother Narcissa took up another tune on the organ.

The rest of the afternoon, Judith laid in front of the fire place, listening to Julie and Junior singing, accompanied by the Malfoy organ. Plates filled with sweets and glasses of fizzy drinks, kept her going until dinner. It was the best day she could ever recall having.

* * *

Erlene heard the voices of her twins long before she even turned down the hall to the dinning room that had been set up for the private family Christmas. She had missed both of their voices. Julie hadn't sung at all the Christmas after her brother's death, and Junior was dead and hiding.

"Angels we have on heard high  
Sweetly singing ore the plains  
And the mountains in reply  
Echoing their joyous strains

Erlene couldn't stop the tears from leaking from her eyes as she heard her oldest son's voice, singing with his twin sister again. His boyish treble was a balm to her soul, as he soloed the chorus.

"Gloria in excelsis Deo  
Gloria in excelsis Deo

She entered the dinning room, discovering that the decorations were now complete. Even the mistletoe had been hung from the chandeliers. The tree was decorated, and the presents from the children were already around the tree.

"Come to Bethlehem and see  
Christ whose birth the angels sing  
Come adore on bended knee  
Christ the Lord the newborn King

Her youngest, Joseph, was already toddling around the room, his head swinging from side to side as he spotted the bright decorations. Little Judith was laying by the fire, her attention seemingly locked on the tree, with the real fairy lights. Erlene remembered the Christmases when she was young. She had done much the same at Prince Manor.

"Gloria in excelsis Deo  
Gloria in excelsis Deo

Then there was Julie, no longer curled up in a ball, no longer crying as she remembered what Fenton had done to her. No, Julie was singing a Gloria. Her face was flush with enthusiasm as her voice, just a bit deeper and truer than the last Christmas she'd sung. At the pause between chorus and verse, she smiled, and expression that Erlene had despaired of ever seeing again.

"See him in a manger laid  
Whom the choirs of angels praise  
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid  
While our hearts in love we raise

And then there was Junior, not alive, really, a ghost, but he was there. He wasn't totally lost to her. He might never grow up, but he was there. His voice rose to begin the chorus with his sister, and Erlene could not resist heading across the room.

"Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Gloria in excelsis Deo

She reached her twins as the last note died. Her arms brought Junior into a hug, the strangely solid ghost smiling as she hugged him. Then she pulled Julie into a hug as well, Junior retreating a bit. Her daughter buried her head into her shoulder, as Erlene enveloped her in the hug. She couldn't let go of her daughter, keeping Julie close in her arms, as long as she could.

* * *

Julie could not remember ever being hugged as much as her mother had hugged her today. It had started when her mother had first arrived in the dining room. Julie had been singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" with her twin brother. It was so nice to be able to sing with Junior again.

Their first song had been entirely accapella, singing "We Three Kings" while putting the gifts they'd wrapped under the tree had been something they'd done at Junior's last Christmas. Julie had sung it with tears in her eyes, tears that Junior had actually managed to wipe from her cheeks, despite being a ghost.

Then Narcisssa had sat down at the organ and began to play a very complex song she called "Sleigh Ride" which Julie knew was by Leroy Anderson, and had words. Julie didn't try to sing that, though. Her attention, and that of her siblings was focused on Narcissa and how she played the complex tune. None of them had ever seen someone play the organ up close.

It was fascinating to watch their father's other wife play. The way her feet moved, and her hands went from keyboard to keyboard, as the organ produced such a wide range of tones from its pipes ... Julie could watch it all day. When the song was over, Julie had nearly missed the call for requests. Fortunately Junior and Judith had been just as fascinated by the organ, and she'd managed to get in her favorite, "What Child is This?" in first.

And when the organ played, she sang. For the first time in almost three years she sang. Her voice rang out loud and clear in melodious tones. Accompanied only by the organ, she sang of the baby, born in the manager, not missing a single note. The word flowed out of her as if she had never stopped.

And then, when the song was over, Junior requested his favorite, asking her to sing along with him. It was so hard to resist pulling Junior close to her, like Victoria had told her not to, when he asked for her to sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," with her.

They were on their third song together, "Angels We Had Heard on High" when their mother had arrived. Julie had seen the tears in her mother's eyes as she hugged them both. Then her mother had requested a song herself.

Julie had very rarely heard her mother sing, other than a few lullabies to her younger siblings, and those had been soft and light. Her mother's voice hadn't been soft and light. No, it was plaintive and pleading, almost begging, as she sang "O Come O Emmanuel." It was if she was calling for the arrival of Emmanuel, herself.

The emotional call pulled at Julie, giving tears to her eyes, as her mother cried out, "O Come O Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel." Each line seemed to be almost personal for her mother. Emotion poured from every note. Narcissa let Erlene go unaccompanied through the last verse, and the last word seemed to echo through the room.

Julie caught tears going down her ghostly brother's face, and she could not resist rushing back up to hug her mother. She didn't want to let go, not after that song.

* * *

All the children were gathered in Julie's room, as Narcissa stepped into it with the large print book. Erlene had asked if there was a copy of it in the Malfoy Manor, and fortunately there was. Erlene was already seated by the fire place. Joseph and Judith were sitting on two toddler size trundle beds that had been brought into the room for the occasion. They'd be sleeping in Julie's room this Christmas Eve. Julie and Draco were seated at Erlene's feet, and even Victoria had snared a chair to listen. Narcissa handed the book to Erlene, then stepped back to a chair that she'd placed near the door.

Erlene opened the book and began to read.

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house  
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,  
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

Narcissa sat back and enjoyed the reading, watching as one child after another tried and failed to avoid nodding off. Every young child seemed to want to stay up to catch Father Christmas. Narcissa remembered trying to stay up with Andromeda and Bellatrix.

She remembered many a Christmas when she and Bellatrix would be woken up by Andromeda late Christmas Night. They would sneak down to the balcony above the Main Hall, where the tree was always placed. Peering through the spindles below the railing, they would try to spot signs that Father Christmas was, or was about to arrive, stifling their giggles when one or another of them made some crazy assertion.

She never quite managed to catch Father Christmas. Bellatrix said she almost did, but neither Narcissa or Andromeda believed her. Every Christmas morning she would find herself waking up to a tree whose boughs sheltered piles from Father Christmas, and the cookies and milk left for him consumed.

"He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,  
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.  
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

All of the children, save Victoria had failed to stay awake with the warm milk and cookies filling their tummies. Narcissa even had to levitate Draco back to his room to tuck him in. She would remember this night well, she was sure. Especially since it allowed her to tuck her little dragon in bed again.

...

Lucius Malfoy had a sneaking suspicion that he had purchased way too much for his children this Christmas. Of course, this was all but Draco's first Christmas at Malfoy Manor, and it had to be good. They were establishing a new Malfoy family tradition, in fact they were establishing a family in the Manor for the first time in many years.

The last present was carefully arranged under the tree, and Lucius dropped into the couch, one of the biscuits left for Father Christmas in his hand to nibble on. He was just consuming the last little crumb when his wives arrived. It was a bit strange to use the plural, but in the wizarding world there was nothing against it. Both his marriages had been conducted legally, if a little hasty, Erlene's in the muggle world and Narcissa in the magical. Narcissa wouldn't be recognized in the muggle world, but that really didn't matter.

Erlene claimed a spot on his right, snuggling up against him. Her head rested on his shoulder as his arm slid around her back. Narcissa found her own spot on his left, not leaning against him, but still accepting his other arm's encouragement to move closer.

"So, are all my children asleep in their beds, visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads?" Lucius said.

"Assuming they know what sugar plums are, yes," Narcissa said. "Erlene did a wonderful job reading it. I even had to put Draco to bed. You really should have joined us."

"No, that's a mother's privilege," Lucius said. "Besides someone had to bring all the presents in."

"You could have had one of the house elves do it, dear," Narcissa said.

"No, this is one of those things you have to do yourself," Lucius said. "So, did you convince Junior not to go spying for his siblings overnight?"

"Junior is currently asleep at the foot of his twin's bed," Erlene said, amused. "I didn't think the book would work on ghosts."

"Junior is no ordinary ghost," Lucius stated, firmly. "He is a boy that anyone should be proud to have as their own."

"I am, I wanted him to live, but I am proud that he is my boy," Erlene almost whispered.

Lucius kissed the top of Erlene's head, and said, "Maybe he can live."


	9. This Alone is Life

_**Author's Note: **__This one took a while, but I don't think the next one will. It's a bit strange to post about Christmas in July, but that's how fast the muse moves. I'd like to thank Jim Trigg, fibinaci, Brad Colman, SlickRCBD, and Jonas for their feedback during this chapter's production. _

* * *

**Chapter Eight:** This Alone is Life

"Get up, Get up, it's Christmas Morning, and Father Christmas came!"

Draco Malfoy had never before experienced being woken up by a hyper younger sibling early in the morning. He really didn't remember getting to bed the night before. He remembered sitting at Erlene's feet with Julie, listening to her read, but that was it.

Listening to Erlene read to her children and him was an experience that Draco was growing to enjoy. Victoria had said that it was quite normal to join the younger siblings when they clamored for a story, even when you thought you were too old to request it yourself. Draco figured that as long as Victoria was there, he'd not fear being called childish for enjoying the story. In fact, he admitted that he was looking forward to the next chapter of _Dragon song_. It was a good way to end the day.

His hyper three-year-old half sister waking him up was not a benefit of being an older brother. "Go wake Victoria up," Draco moaned, sleepily. "She's across the hall."

"Okay Drake-oh," Judith said, bounding off his bed and out of the room.

As Draco rolled out of bed and stretched, he heard Judith cry out from across the hall, "Vicky-oreo! Get up ..."

"I see you passed the blessing that was our youngest sister on," Julie said from the door between their rooms. "And I say was, because she woke me up by jumping on my belly."

"She didn't hurt you, did she," Draco said.

Julie shook her head, picking up Joseph, who had been pulling on her pjs.

"It's Christmas Morning," Junior said, apparently having preceded Julie into Draco's room. "Good will to all, and all that."

"That tickles, Vicky-oreo," Judith's voice filtered back across the hall.

"I think we better get down to the Christmas Tree before Judith gets there and opens everything," Junior said. "I know I want to see what everyone got."

"I have to wait for someone who knows the way," Julie said, looking at Draco. "I got lost when someone went to breakfast without me yesterday. I am not asking one of those creepy French paintings for directions again."

Draco remember talking to a few of those paintings, and had to silently agree. "Okay, let's round up Judith and Joseph, and we'll head to the dining room together."

* * *

There were certain rules on opening up presents that Judith had learned in her short life. One of them was you generally opened the biggest present first ... and avoided opening up anything that looked like clothes. Her new father had levitated all of her presents out from under the tree for her, and she now had a gigantic pile in front of her.

One of the presents was flat, and had lots of smaller boxes stacked on top of it, with a ribbon holding it all together. It wasn't the biggest one, actually. The biggest one she thought she knew what it was. It had been wrapped too closely. It was obviously a rocking horse, and the fun of opening presents was to open something you didn't know what it was. So, Judith was studying the wrapped packages stacked on the flat one.

Half of them seemed to be labeled as from Julie, Judith could recognize her sister's name easily, and the other half, she wasn't quite sure, but she thought the name on them might be Draco. She reached up and pulled the big green bow loose. Then she freed the one of the biggest of the smaller packages from the ribbon. It said it was from Draco, she was sure of that now. Her fingers deftly opened the package to reveal a tall black clad figure of a king with a real gold crown. As she lifted it out of the box and placed it on the floor, it bowed to her and said, "my lady."

Quickly she opened another package, this one labeled as from Julie, revealing a white Queen. A quick count of packages, and she knew what this was. She squealed, "You got me my own chess set!" She ran over first to Julie, then to Draco, hugging them. "Thank you, thank you!"

* * *

Victoria sipped her hot chocolate as she watched her younger siblings open up their presents. She'd finished opening up hers, including an entirely unexpected one from Draco. He had somehow managed to commission a special edition of "The Grimiore for the Noble Heiress" by Selene Slytherin, the only one of her house's founder's granddaughters to survive to adulthood. It was a special book, that could only be reprinted with the permission of a former or current Head of Slytherin.

Selene had actually been the third head of Slytherin, the first chosen after her grandfather's death. She had been a Transfiguration Mistress, unlike the majority of Slytherin heads. In fact a good two thirds of them had been Potions Master or Mistress of Hogwarts, including the last two. The house was well known for housing such geniuses.

Victoria put down her hot chocolate and opened the title page again to read the three inscriptions, the one from Draco, the one from her Head of House, and then the very unexpected one.

"To Victoria, my elder sister, to whom I bend my knee, Draco."

"To Victoria Prince-Malfoy, a Prince(ss) and the truest Slytherin in her year, Professor Severus "Half Blood Prince" Snape, 46th Head of Slytherin.

"To Victoria Prince-Malfoy, a worthy student of Transfiguration beyond her years, Professor Minerva McGonagall, 44th Head of Gryffindor

"A worthy student," Victoria repeated the line. It was praise that she had never expected from the strict Transfiguration Mistress and Deputy Headmistress. It also had a special meaning, beyond the usual praise. A worthy student was someone that a Professor believed could one day succeed them, if they kept up their studies. Victoria never had thought of herself in those terms, especially since she'd discovered that her step-father had made her pregnant. But those words now echoed in her mind. "A worthy student." She had to live up to them.

She looked back up from the book, and noticed that Draco was opening up his gift from her. She hadn't had a lot of time to get Draco something, just a couple hours in the alley after her fitting, carefully staying away from where Draco was handling her younger sisters. She knew he wanted to be a Seeker, some day, for Slytherin House. To be perfectly honest, as Higgs was rather lackluster, Draco had a lot better chance that she'd admitted to him, if he was properly motivated. So when her father had asked her how much she needed to get Christmas gifts, she'd asked how much a practice snitch cost.

Her father had not only given her plenty to get one, he'd told her the best one to get, and asked if Draco needed a new broom, too. She'd told him that it might be best to hold off a bit on that, waiting until Draco made the team, and apparently surprised him by bringing up the fact that Nimbus was about to release a new broom that might be better suited to the position, but it wouldn't be wise to be the player to test that. A half hour long discussion on brooms followed, and Victoria figured that she must have somehow betrayed her interest in owning her own broom. It would certainly explain why among her gifts from her father was a Nimbus 2000.

While she was thinking, Draco had stood, and made his way over to Victoria's side. "Thanks, Victoria," Draco said with the biggest smile she'd ever seen on him.

"We'll see if you can beat me to the snitch, once I have my baby," Victoria said.

"Good luck with that, sis," Draco said. "You're going to be way out of practice by the time you're let back on a broom."

Victoria smiled. "Probably, but I'll catch the snitch more often than you'll beat Judith in chess."

* * *

Erlene watched her youngest son rip into the last of his presents. She was sure that the paper was more of interest to the toddler than anything that it might wrap. Joseph had such an expression of joy on his face. He alone seemed to have no effect from the move and the departure to jail of his father.

Victoria seemed to be rather interested in a book that Draco had given her. One hand held the book, and the other rested on the thirteen-year-old's swollen belly. Victoria would never be able to forget what her step-father did to her, not with the baby on the way. Erlene didn't know how her daughter was managing, having an unwanted occupant forced into her womb. She figured that her daughter was mostly pushing it to the back of her mind. Erlene wondered if a mind healer might be a good idea, and if the one she was supposed to talk to tomorrow would be available for Victoria.

Lucius's son with Narcissa appeared to be having the dubious honor of being the first person to loose to Judith with the new Wizarding Chess set that he and Julie had purchased for her. There was a reason that there was only one chess set in their old apartment, and that it had been kept in the cupboard. Judith just had to be reminded of its existence and she'd challenge someone to play. Erlene enjoyed playing her daughters, but there was a limit. Now with her own set, Judith wouldn't have that limit.

Julie seemed to have somehow escaped playing chess with Judith. Instead the girl was watching the music box dancer with fascination as the wooden fairy danced in the air above the music box. She'd have to ask Lucius if the mind healer would see Julie, recalling what she'd seen when she lifted Julie's dress after her last outing with her father.

Junior, being a ghost, hadn't really had presents. He was dead, after all. Of course, he wasn't an ordinary ghost. He seemed different somehow, and he could touch things, even moving them. His current occupation was picking out tunes on the Malfoy organ, and trying to sing along. He was doing a better job singing than he was playing. Erlene looked over at Narcissa, who had finished her own present opening, and was looking at Junior playing her organ.

"Narcissa, please relieve my son of the organ," Erlene pleaded. "He sings well, but he needs lessons before he can play that."

Narcissa smiled, stood, and saluted, before heading up to the organ. As she took over the bench, and began playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire, Erlene felt the approach of her youngest daughter.

"Mummy, can you play chess with me?" Judith asked, as she put the chess board on the side table.

"Just as long as you're ready to loose," Erlene said to her daughter. "I'll be playing to a higher level."

"I ready to beat you!" Judith exclaimed. "Draco's too easy."

"Still haven't beaten my daughter, Draco?" Erlene said, looking over at her husband's eldest son.

"Twenty-one straight losses," Draco said. "And she's never repeated an opening."

"Of course not," Erlene said. "She's trying to be good enough to beat a grandmaster at the top of her game. Oh, Lucius, is the Ministry still sponsoring the Wizarding Grand Chess Master tourney in February?"

"Yes," Lucius said. "Should I register you?"

"I'm a little rusty, but I think it's time I humble Arthur Weasley again," Erlene replied.

"My Erlene has been a Grand Master since she beat the then reigning Magical Great Britian champion at sixteen," Lucius related to the rest of his family, putting his hand on Erlene's shoulder. Erlene could feel his pride in her. "Weasley beat her back the next year, but he's been a bit too comfortable piddling around in the Ministry. No one has beat him in years."

* * *

Julie was not happy, having spent Boxing Day morning being examined by a healer, in her own new bedroom. She had been stripped, prodded and probed. She had been scanned, spread, and manipulated. And then, still naked, they'd had her brother the ghost come in and touch her head, chest, and belly. Even after he'd left, they still wouldn't let her get dressed, or worse yet, explain her treatment.

Finally, the healers left, and after a few minutes, her new father came in, conjuring a blanket to cover her.

"Did the healers not tell you that you could get dressed?" Lucius asked.

"They kept telling me no, and I wasn't sure they were done," Julie replied, curling up under the blanket.

"They're done, and if you're anything like your mother, I expect you have a strong urge for a long soak in your tub," Lucius stated.

"That sounds like a good idea," Julie said, moving to wrap the blanket around her.

"Unfortunately, I think you need to know the results of your examination first," Lucius said, taking a seat in the chair that had been brought in for her mother to read to Julie and her siblings. Julie nodded. "The healers report that only the loss of your physical virginity was a permanent effect of your encounter with Fenton Price. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that genetically, you, like Judith and Joseph, are my child. I shall not go into the details of how that's possible.

"As I told you earlier, I felt it wise that you be examined soonest given what you experienced the day Hogwarts let out. However, there was an additional motive, caused by what your sister Victoria discovered about Junior. I do not know if she told you her research or speculations?"

Julie shook her head. Victoria had never talked to her about Junior, though she'd cast a few spells once or twice.

"She got most of it right, but not all. I'm afraid she was a bit scared by tales of a ritual that could have had Junior be reborn in the next several months, from you. Fortunately, she missed a few components being present. You should know, however, that right now you hold a lobe of Junior's soul, that does two things. It prevents him from moving on, and it allows him to interact more with his surroundings. With the proper ritual, it may also allow him to return."

"You mean I'd give birth to my twin brother?" Julie scrunched up her nose. "Eww."

"You could, but it would be quite dangerous at your age," Lucius said. "Fortunately there is a much more reliable variant that will allow your mother to have your brother again. I take it that you don't find that gross?"

"Well, I kind of want him back, for real," Julie said. "I mean, him being around as a ghost these past few weeks is okay, but it's not just the same."

"Julie, it will never be quite the same," Lucius said. "Even with this ritual, he'll be restored only to the age he was when he died, and have to age normally after that. Of course it will only take about a month for him to be reborn, and five more months to get back to age five."

Julie thought about it. Junior had been her companion and friend who was there every day of her life from the time they were born until her father ... Fenton ... killed him. The taste of his ghost being there this Christmas had wet her tongue for more. "I want my brother back." Then another thought occurred to her. "Does he want to come back? Has he been asked?"

"Not yet, Julie," Lucius said. "We wanted to have everything lined up and make sure it was possible before we broached the subject. With your acceptance, we should be able to do the ritual on the night of January fourth, when Mercury, Venus, and Mars are all in Sagittarius, and it is a New Moon."

"That's the day before Victoria and Draco go back to Hogwarts."

"Indeed," Lucius said. "Now, I think I'm going to spends some time out on the balcony. Go take the hot bath I know you want to, and when you're done, join me for some hot chocolate on the balcony. I think it's time that I get to know my little Jewel."

Julie had never been called that particular nickname. Her full name was Juliet, after all. Most of the time she got dumb Shakespearean related nicknames. It wasn't bad, but still ..."I'm not little," Julie proclaimed, as she gathered the blanket and headed over to her bath room, still wrapped in it.

"Maybe not, but you're my Jewel," Lucius said.

* * *

Lucius Malfoy really didn't know what to expect with his newly discovered girls. Erlene had said that chocolate was the key to most things with her girls, so he had a mug of hot chocolate waiting for Julie when she emerged from her room onto the balcony.

Julie emerged from her room wearing muggle clothes, which Lucius figured was only to be expected. She'd tossed on a jersey which had a picture of a pointy-eared creature and the message, "Live Long and Prosper," over a faded pair of jeans. "It's warm out here," Julie said with a surprised tone.

Lucius smiled, indicating that she should take a seat before the mug, before he replied. "The balconies are charmed to be dry and at least sixty two degrees at all times. And by dry, I mean no water on their surfaces. You can still get soaked in the rain."

"Neat," Julie replied, before taking her first sip of the hot chocolate.

Lucius let his right eyebrow rise at Julie's response to his warning. Perhaps though it was some of that muggle slang that Erlene had warned him that her children occasionally used?

"I hope you've been enjoying living here at the manor thus far?" Lucius asked, after a long moment of silence.

"Yeah, mostly," Julie said. "I've never had my own room, before. I really like having my own room and not having to share it with any body. I used to have to share with Junior, and then with Victoria, and sometimes Judith. I just wish I could find where the telly is. No one seems to know, and I don't want to miss the next episode of Start Trek: The Next Generation."

"I'm afraid that the manor doesn't have a telly, yet, and I don't know what Star Trek is," Lucius replied. He'd actually seen a television, back when he and Erlene had been hiding from his father in the muggle world. He'd nearly become addicted to watching football, before they'd been caught.

"You don't know what Star Trek is?" Julie exclaimed. "Victoria said the Wizading world was behind times, but not knowing Star Trek? Captain Kirk? Spock? Doctor McCoy?"

"I've never heard of them, perhaps you could explain?" Lucius said, tentatively. "It would be one of those television shows, I assume."

"Only the best science fiction television show!" Julie said. "The new series is even better than the first one from the sixties. The Original Series starred Captain Kirk as the commander of the starship Enterprise, Spock was the First Officer, and DoctorMcCoy was the chief medical officer."

"And what did this Starship Enterprise do?" Lucius asked, enjoying hearing the enthusiasm of his middle daughter.

"I like how the new series puts it best," Julie said. "Space ... the final frontier, these are the voyages of the Star Ship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds ... to seek out new life; new civilizations ... to boldly go where no one has gone before!" Julie paused for a moment. "The original said five year mission, and no man instead of no one ... but I like the new one better."

"Certainly," Lucius said. "I imagine that they couldn't go for five year mission so long after the sixties. As for no one over no man ... no one does flow better. So tell me about the old series crew first."

"Original series," Julie corrected. Lucius nodded his acceptance, before taking a sip of his drink. "The Captain is the best, though the new series Captain is starting to grow on me. He seems to always know what to do, and how to get the best out of the ship and crew. There is no better Captain than James Tiberius Kirk."

"With a nice traditional middle name, I see," Lucius said. "So many of the old names don't get used anymore."

"Well, don't call me Juliet," Julie said, firmly, before muttering "I've had enough of Romeo and Juliet jokes at school."

"I shall try to remember that," Lucius said, taking another sip. "And the crew of this paragon of captains?"

"Well, the first officer is Commander Spock," Julie said, pointing to her shirt. "He's half Vulcan, half human, which means he keeps his emotions under extreme control. He's very logical, and also serves as the ship's Science Officer. Oh, and Vulcans only mate every seven years in a ritual called pon farr."

"I do hope you were spared watching that," Lucius said, as he spotted Erlene entering the balcony from Julie's door.

"It's the telly, Lucius, they'd never show that," Erlene said. "I just finished talking to the healers, Julie. I'm sorry I wasn't there with you."

"It was okay, Mum," Julie said, in a tone that Lucius was able to classify as unsure. In fact, it sounded like the girl was a bit worried.

"Well then, put that worry out of your mind," Erlene said. "Finish up your chocolate, and by then I should have the telly and VCR set up in the turret, so we can really show your father what Star Trek is about."

"We've got to show him Trouble with Tribbles," Julie replied, before taking a bigger sip of her chocolate.

"Perfect choice," Erlene said. "I'll be up in the East turret, Lucius. I expect you to join me in about an hour or so."

Lucius looked at his first wife. She didn't actually look like she expected him. She looked like she expected him to disappoint her. "We shall be there, right Julie?"

"Aye, sir," Julie replied, before dissolving into a nervous giggle.

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**_The tour will resume at 0800 hours, starting with the Battle Bridge._


	10. Joyous, Beautiful and Free

_**Author's Note: **__This is the last full chapter. There will be an epilogue published next week. However this is not the end of the Slytherin story line, note that I did not say Malfoy story line. It is my intention to eventually write a story that will cover from January to June of First Year _

_There has been some concern that a statement I made about the charms caused by Lucius and Erlene's marriage not allowing anyone but his seed to make her pregnant resulting in Victoria's child being her father's child as well. This is not the case. Victoria's child is her step-father's, though she would like to change that if she could. This was not incorporated into the story due to it not quite fitting into the discussions and scenes. I'm afraid that all the implications of what might happen generally rests on incomplete information. In other words, don't trust a student to know everything, or a parent to say everything to their child in my stories. You'll be as misled as I want them to be._

_For this chapter I would like to thank the following people for their assistance; slickRCBD, Wolfkin, fibinaci, jim trigg, MoKR, and gemma ethan whitaker _

* * *

**Chapter Nine**: Joyous, Beautiful and Free

Lucius Malfoy stood between his two wives waiting for his guests to arrive at the New Years Eve Ball that his family had hosted every year since eighteen-thirty-one. It had been 'The Ball' since eighteen-forty-one, when they had scored the attendance of Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Albert. This year Lucius hadn't quite scored as much of a guest list as that storied ball, where the Queen had actually turned the Minister of Magic into a frog.

By tradition, you either flooed or apparated into the portico, and then entered the grand entry of Malfoy Manor. The grand entry was done in Regency style, and had not changed much since the last visit of that Queen in eighteen-eighty-eight. The Malfoy Family had changed greatly since then. Most Malfoys had one, maybe two children, a fact that the Queen had derided back in her last Ball. The heir would usually be waiting near the ballroom door, shepherding guests that way, a task that Draco had taken the previous year, for the first time.

That had changed this year. His own Victoria thought she was up to the task, and she was his eldest, but Lucius figured that with her swollen womb, it would not be good for her to stand too long, so it had been decided that she and Draco would alternate, while she could, escorting guests to the Ballroom.

He'd just finished checking up on his children, making sure that Victoria, Draco, and Juliet were ready for the ball. He'd told Julie that for the night, she was Juliet, and she had not been pleased, but Julie was not a traditional wizarding name, or nickname for that matter. Juliet was. The bells above the door rang. They'd been long programmed to play a bit of a song for each guest, to warn the hosts which ones were coming through the door. If the guest was well known by the family, it might even be a particular tune of their choice.

The first tune was a fairly new choice for this friend of the family. It had replaced a sixties piece that had been fine when Severus Snape had been just a student of potions sponsored the family, but had worn out. That "dun-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh" really got on your nerves

The Head of Slytherin claimed that the new tune was from the same source, but it was much more plaintive, at least the portion that Severus had chosen. It was still way too catching.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Severus," Lucius said, as the Potions Master's cloak cleared the door. As expected, Severus had stuck to his traditional black.

"Thank you for the invitation," Severus said. "It was nice to have an excuse to remain away from Hogwarts for the rest of the Yule Break."

"Indeed," Lucius said. "I don't think you've been properly introduced to my wife Erlene."

Erlene offered Severus her hand, as was proper, and Severus placed a gentle kiss on its back.

"I'd like to thank you for your gentle hand in taking care of my daughter at Hogwarts," Erlene said, as Severus stood back up straight. "I do not think my daughter would be as well off as she is if it was not for your care."

"Thank you, madam, but it is but my duty," Severus replied. "I am her Head of House; all of Slytherin should expect no less than that which I have given her. Indeed, she deserved more than I was able to give her. The bastard, if you will pardon the term in the current company, who hurt her deserves the unforgivables."

"You will not find many, if any, who disagree with that," Lucius replied. "Rest assured that everything has been taken care of on that score by the family. However, I believe that Victoria, herself, has no complaints from your care. In fact," Lucius's voice peaked louder, "Victoria, please escort the Potions Master to the Ballroom. I believe you said you had something to say to him."

Sometime the tune would be specific to the office holder, which explained how "Rule Britannia" ended up playing as Minister Cornelius Fudge entered the room.

Lucius plastered on a perfunctory smile as he greeted the man. "Minister, how nice of you to come. I believe you know Narcissa, and this is my first wife, Erlene." The man had been a useful foil, but if recent rumors about how much the man was badgering Dumbledore for advice rather than acting himself were true, the man was proving to be the wrong man for the job.

"Lord Malfoy, may I express my condolences on the recent death of your father," Fudge said. It was not the first time that Fudge had said the perfunctory condolences. Lucius thought that perhaps he would have gotten the hint that the family wasn't mourning his father's passing by now, and it had been over a week and a half since the death without support for actions notice had been published.

"Abraxas has gone on to his eternal punishment," Narcissa replied shortly in the long silence that Lucius had left.

"Indeed," Lucius said. At that moment, Lucius made a decision. He would call for a vote of no confidence. "You may find my house's goals greatly changed with his death. We shall of course speak of that anon. Draco! My son has heard that you're a fan of the Wanderers, and were at their game last Saturday, when he was regrettably unable to attend."

As the door opened again, Lucius was quite surprised to hear the next tune. It was soft, played on the celestial bells. It was not the expected pipe driven tune that he had expected, the moment that he had spotted the Deputy Headmistress. Instead, it was the tune long established for the Head of a family that had not attended the ball, nor even visited Malfoy Manor in three quarters of a century.

As the Professor cleared the door, her charge was revealed to be a first year Gryffindor whose invitation, Lucius knew, had been extended not by his fellow first year, Draco, but by Victoria. If there was a young lad who was more famous in the wizarding world than the Boy-Who-Lived, Lucius was unaware of him. This was the first time that Lucius had been able to really examine the Harry Potter.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Professor, Mister Potter," Lucius greeted. The boy seemed quite a bit short for his age, and his hair was quite messy. His bangs seemed to be specifically positioned to hide his famous scar. The cream tail coat he wore did not disguise his thinness. It seemed that he'd chosen a tuxedo with tails for his outfit, though Lucius suspected that it was more McGonagall's choice. Draco had made a similar choice to forgo the traditional robes, so there was no fault there.

He knew from Victoria that Potter had been in Kingston-on-Thames for the same reason as Victoria had. In a world before his father's death, Lucius would have been making political hay out of that fact, but not anymore.

"Thank you for the most gracious invitation," McGonagall said, formally. Lucius had to wonder if she ever smiled. "It is not often that we are afforded an opportunity to attend an event with such a rich history away from Hogwarts, especially this time of year. Nor do I often have an opportunity to visit your noble house."

"Indeed," Lucius said. "And Mister Potter, I see you are fascinated by the Malfoy chimes. I take it that you have not heard the tune that announced you before?"

"No, sir," Potter said shortly, looking as if he wanted to blend into the cream paneling on the wall behind him.

"It is the theme of your family," Narcissa picked up. "I believe they call it Hedwig's Theme. I understand you are continuing the tradition of naming your owl the traditional Potter name."

"I didn't know that," Potter said softly, almost stuttering. "I mean, I just picked the name out of my History of Magic text book."

"It is a most fitting name, especially for a snowy owl," Erlene said. "But we have held you enough. I believe Draco wants to talk to you, Mister Potter, and Victoria would no doubt wish to talk to you, Professor, given her Christmas gifts."

The next tune was a rather famous toccata and fugue, and it only took six notes for Lucius to realize that it was one of those that he really wished he could avoid inviting. "Madam Umbridge! How nice of you to accept our invitation..."

* * *

Draco Malfoy came back to where those his age were gathered after the last guest had arrived. He figured that he'd lucked out with much of the escorts that he'd split between himself and Victoria. He'd actually done two for every one that his older half sister had done, but that was okay. Victoria had the misfortune to get both Madam Umbridge and the Goyles, and Lacretia Goyle had been particularly nasty to Victoria, given her condition and lack of attachment.

"I do hope you can dance, Potter," Draco said. "These balls are extremely boring if you can't take some girl to dance some time. Father may like circulating around talking to people, but there is only so much talk and punch I can stand."

"Professor McGonagall taught me some," Potter replied. "She says I shouldn't embarrass my house too much, but I'm not sure who to ask."

Draco looked around the room, as the string quartet took up some Hayden. Pansy was out. He had to ask her first. Daphne had one of those smirks on her face. Better for everyone if she was the last to be asked, or had to dance with Vincent first. Then he spotted his little sister, in her first formal gown. "I think I have just the person to start with," Draco said. "She won't expect much, and no matter how bad you are, she'll love the fact that she gets to be the first to go out on the floor with Harry-the-Heartthrob. And since I taught her last night, I know she can dance. Go ask Julie."

"Okay," Potter said. It was obvious that the 'Harry-the-Heartthrob' line had him ill at ease, if not the having to dance thing.

Draco looked on as Potter approached his little sister and asked her to dance, then turned to Pansy. It was obvious that she once again had not had control of her dress. That was probably for the best. Pansy preferred what he'd heard called bubble gum pink. It did not look good on her, but the silver and gold satin dress she wore did. Draco gently took her offered hand, like he had done for the last two years, and asked, "My pretty Pansy, may I have this dance?"

Pansy smiled, something that Draco didn't get to see her do often. Pansy seemed to be in a perpetual frown, especially at Hogwarts, and it did not look good on her. Dancing though, that seemed to always bring a smile to her face. Draco's father said that was important.

The tune was a waltz, and soon Draco and Pansy were joined by more of the guests, not just dancing alone with Potter and Julie.

"So, who's the girl that you sent Potter to dance with?" Pansy asked.

Draco smiled, realizing that he hadn't yet told any of his housemates about his new siblings. In fact, Potter, his great rival at school, was the only one of the first years who knew about them. "She, Pansy, is my middle half-sister Juliet Antonia Malfoy, though you might not want to call her Juliet, despite what Father says. He can get away with not calling her Julie. I'm sure I can't."

"Where did she come from?" Pansy said as they executed a twirl. "I thought you were an only child."

"Apparently father had a previous relationship to my mother that my grandfather was preventing, unsuccessfully," Draco said whispering in her ear. "He eloped with mother Erlene right after they finished Hogwarts. You know that my mother was arranged."

"Yes," Pansy said as they rotated around Potter and Julie. "So, how many half-siblings do you have now?"

"Three sisters, and one, maybe two brothers," Draco said. Then at Pansy's questioning expression, he continued. "Julie was a twin, but we might be able to get back her twin bother, but it's complicated."

"I'll bet," Pansy said. "So, there is Victoria, obviously, and Julie, who Daphne has apparently already christened the little scamp ..."

"Judith, who is three, and I'll warn you right now, don't accept a chess game with her," Draco said, moving to dance a bit closer. "She'll cheerfully beat you, over and over again. Then there is Joseph, who is not quite two."

"So, what's it like having siblings," Pansy asked, as they executed a dip.

"Kind of fun, actually," Draco said. "Victoria's more serious, but it's nice to be able to talk to someone who has gone through everything. I think Judith is more of a scamp than Julie is. Victoria says that when Julie and I get on the same side of something, she starts worrying. Julie's got the room next to mine now."

"You mean the one that they'd never let me stay overnight in?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, so I'd get on Julie's good side," Draco said. "That might require you learning about a muggle show on the telly called Star Trek. She's a bit obsessed with it."

"I'm not obsessed, Drake, I'm a Trekkie," Julie said, as she extended out from Potter to be just short of impacting their dance.

"Who calls puffleskins tribbles," Draco said, before Potter pulled Julie back into his arms. "Like I said, obsessed. And she's trying to get the rest of the family in on it."

"Muggle shows?" Pansy questioned.

"My sisters may be purebloods, but they grew up as muggles," Draco shrugged. "I'm getting used to what they think. And Mother Erlene has figured out how to hook up a telly so we can see them, and they aren't that bad. Kind of like watching that painting of the fight in the Ministry Hall on the third floor, but a lot more fun."

"You mean the one with the pies?" Pansy said.

"Yes," Draco said. "You never know who is going to show up, or what is going to trigger the fight this time. Muggle telly shows might be even better, though I don't get what Father likes about some sports he watches."

"I don't get my father's love for Quodpot," Pansy said. "I mean, the balls blow up."

"Still want to try out for chaser?" Draco asked, as the quartet shifted to a faster waltz.

"I want to knock the whole cheating team out," Pansy said with a passion that Draco had become quite familiar with. Slytherin may have only played one game so far, but Pansy had often accompanied her father, who was also a governor at Hogwarts, to the games. Her father was a just plain sports afficionado, and actually owned a sixty percent share of the Arrows.

"I know," Draco said. "The one good thing about Potter catching the snitch when he did was that I didn't have to keep watching the blatant fouls. We're Slytherins. The least they could do was to be subtle about it. Victoria wants to join our conspiracy. They wouldn't let her even try out last year because she's a girl."

* * *

Victoria sat in a chair on the side of the Ballroom, looking longingly at the dance floor. Her state of pregnancy had forced her to find a seat, though she really wanted to dance. This was her, as well as Julie's, first ball. Julie was already dancing, and had started to dance with perhaps the most sought after Hogwarts student in the ballroom. Of course he was taken, but Victoria wouldn't turn down a dance with Harry if he offered.

"It's a disgrace, really, how a house can be brought low by a disgraceful daughter who would be better hidden." Victoria knew the voice. It wasn't the first time she'd heard it, and the disapproval of that Umbridge woman who knew nothing about how Victoria had ended up in her current condition.

"How the mighty fall," a voice that Victoria thought was Madam Goyle, but she wasn't sure. She would have to turn around to tell, and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to. "I remember the glory days of the House of Malfoy. The revels, oh how joyous they were ... and this ball used to be the event. This year it's just sad."

"The Minister is here," Madam Mengala said. That scratch squealing voice could only be that woman. Victoria had shown her the way to the ball room. The old lady looked like a sow.

"Yes, but the DMLE Director isn't, and neither is the head of Magical Games and Sports," Madam Goyle said. "They couldn't even get the head of the Goblin Liaison Office!"

"Actually, I think I saw Dirk," another lady said. "Yes, there he is. Pardon me ladies, but I think I'm going to go see if I can maneuver him to ask me to dance. Rumor is he broke up with Ophelia a couple weeks ago."

Victoria saw the young woman stroll past her. There was no way that she could contrive to get any boy to dance with her. No one would dance with the shameful pregnant girl.

Suddenly her vision was obscured by bronze and gold robes. She blinked to clear her tearful eyes. Victoria hadn't even realized that she was tearing up. It was Julian, her potions tutor. He offered her his hand and said, "My dear Victoria, would you do me the honor of joining me for this dance?"

Victoria took his hand and replied, "the honor is mine, Journeyman Ollivander." He took hold of both her hands, and somehow made her difficult, pregnancy impaired rise seem perfectly normal.

Then Victoria found herself dancing. It was a waltz, not a slow one, but not a fast one either. She twirled and rotated past Julie and Harry, past Draco and Pansy, past her father and mother. Her feet felt as if they were dancing upon air. Each tune seemed to impart more energy to the pregnant girl. When the tunes slowed, Julian held her close. When the piece's energy increased, their bodies twirled, dipped, and sashayed across the dance floor.

How long Victoria was on that dance floor she didn't know. She switched partners, twice, taking a single dance each with Harry and Draco. Eventually though, the musicians had to take a break, and Victoria found herself back next to the drinks and food table. She was very careful to make sure her juice was just that, juice. She was also sure that Draco had done the opposite.

"Avoid the pineapple punch, I think I saw someone pouring fire whisky into it," Penny Weasley said. Victoria hadn't realized that the newlywed prefect was nearby. "I don't think they've touched the strawberry yet."

"They better not have," Victoria growled. Strawberry juice was her favorite, bar none.

"Ask your family's house elves to fix it," Penny said. "Professor Dumbledore assigned one to help Percy and me, and they're very helpful. I just wish my new mother-in-law wasn't so against getting one."

"Let me guess, six pregnancies, seven children, and never needed one before?" Victoria asked. Penny nodded. "Father says he's going to let me have one of the family elves. I'd like Dobby, but I think Draco's got him twisted right around his little finger."

Victoria looked over at Draco. He was on his third partner of the night, if you didn't count sisters. Victoria didn't count brothers. Draco had to side step, and nearly tripped his partner of the moment, Tracey Davis, when Narcissa strode across the dance floor, anger clearly emanating from her.

* * *

As the long time hostess of the Malfoy New Year's Ball, Narcissa kept an ear on all the threads of conversation in the room. She'd charmed one of her earrings to help her. She was quite proud of that spell. She'd created it herself. It recorded almost all the conversations in the ball room, and allowed her to review the last hour or so at any time that hour.

Having just switched off with Erlene, allowing her sister wife another turn with Lucius, she touched the earring and began to review the conversations that were going on to see where she needed to be. The first couple ones she checked on were fine, with nothing she needed to worry about. Well, not immediately, Julie was talking to Potter about babies as she danced.

Then she heard the words. "She's obviously a scarlet woman. And look, they invited that apprentice at the wand shop. I bet she seduced him, and that's why he's here."

Narcissa quickly reviewed as much of the conversation around that area as she could. It didn't take long to determine who was poisoning the well of good will for her husband's first child. This had to end. It was one thing to spread gossip about the oldest daughter of a noble house. It was another thing to do it as an invited guest of that noble house.

Narcissa did not bother going around the dance floor. It was time to purge the poison from her house. As she strode across the floor, she just missed Draco. She'd have to apologize to him and his partner, later.

She suddenly realized that she might be making a scene, and diverted her course just a bit, putting her hand on Julie's shoulder. "Julie, Mister Potter, a word for a moment."

"Yes Mum," Julie said, with just a hint of fear to her voice, as if she thought she had suddenly done something wrong. Both stopped dancing.

"It's nothing bad ... for you," Narcissa said. "I'm about to remove some guests who have worn out their welcome by making unwise comments on your older sister. Can you discreetly pass the word to your father? Oh, and Mister Potter, I think it best if you would be nearby and willing to lend a word in support of Victoria. I understand that the two of you are friends."

"We are," Potter said. "Would you be doing something about the toad in the brown and gold dress?" Narcissa nodded. "Thought so. Draco sent Journeyman Julian over to get Victoria away. You better head over there quickly. It looks like Parkinson is about to take things in her own hands.

Narcissa spotted her son's favorite, and resumed her course, intending to head Pansy off. The girl had a cup of one of the more staining punches provided. Pansy hated most berry punches, and especially the carbonated blackberry one imported from across the pond. Lucius loved it.

Narcissa caught Pansy's attention and shook her head. Pansy stopped, cleverly next to Daphne Greengrass. One problem solved.

With just a few more steps, she arrived at the knot of women around the Minister's Undersecretary. It was clear that Umbridge was the center of the conversation.

"Madam Umbridge," Narcissa began, "I've heard that you have a rather strong opinion of my husband's eldest." Narcissa kept her voice even, only allowing a hint of her disgust to leak through.

"Yes," Umbridge said. "It is a shame that such a girl would displace your son's position in such a noble house."

"I see you've made a particular judgement of Victoria," Narcissa said, schooling the sharpness out her voice to see if the toad ... Potter's description of the woman was apt, Narcissa decided.

"I would have thought that it was self evident, given her condition, what she is," Umbridge said. "A scarlet girl who can't keep her legs together, destined to end up as a tavern wench."

"I see," Narcissa said. "I think perhaps you may be mistaken. Then again, believing rumors can lead one very astray. I have heard the swill which you have been feeding others at this ball. It is swill that is beyond the pale of any guest of this family. And I do say family.

"You have insulted a courageous daughter of this house, whose condition is no fault of her own. Moreover, you have disparaged the morals of a young woman who all of this house is proud of. I say it proudly, Victoria is my husband's daughter, heiress presumptive by virtue of her son-to-be. She is a witch beyond all expectations, worthy of honor, proud possessor of "The Grimoire for the Noble Heiress" with both endorsements as a worthy student.

"As for her condition, the House of Malfoy has taken action against her despoiler. Rest assured that our action was greatly satisfying to all of the House of Malfoy, especially to the privileges of the once a man. Our actions towards all who trouble in the slightest the presumptive majority heir of the house shall be equally satisfying to us.

"And as for you, Madam Umbridge, I would suggest that you do not darken the doorstep of this house, nor trouble us again. You are from this moment forward no longer welcome in our presence. Go, and pray that you do not attract our notice again."

Narcissa took great pleasure watching the toad leave. Pansy wasn't the only one to ruin the toad's robes on the way out. Someone, Narcissa suspected Victoria, transfigured the Undersecretary's dress robes into sack cloth, just as the toad reached the ballroom door.

"Now, if you don't mind, I believe that our family's eldest daughter finds herself in need of a good partner, as she seems to have danced Journeyman Julian out. Perhaps I should introduce her to the Warashham heir. I understand he's quite the waltzer."

* * *

Erlene loved to dance. It was one thing she had truly missed when she had been exiled to the muggle world. Fortunately so did Lucius. Narcissa wasn't quite so enthusiastic, which helped. Erlene didn't want to monopolize their husband. She was determined to make sure the family worked. If that meant that she had to give up a few dances to Narcissa, so be it.

As Erlene took up the waltz with Lucius, she spotted her two daughters dancing. It looked like Draco was taking another turn with Victoria, and Julie was still monopolizing Potter's time. It was good to see Draco and Victoria getting along. When Erlene had found out that Lucius had a son with Narcissa, that son's reaction to Victoria was one of her biggest worries. Especially given what happened to Victoria, already.

Inheritance of magical houses was a bit different. You weren't in the line of succession until you reached your majority. For most, that meant turning seventeen, but for some, like her daughter, that came early, with the birth of their child, if they didn't marry out of the family. So, once Victoria had her baby boy, she'd be Lucius's heir, until Draco turned seventeen. If Lucius died before he did, it would be Victoria who lead the family for the rest of her life and Draco would come after her son in succession. It wasn't all that likely to happen, but you never knew. A wise family acted like it was going to until it couldn't.

Lucius had just become head of the Noble House of Malfoy, after his unlamented father's death. Until Victoria had her baby, he had no immediate heir, making Victoria a very presumptive heir. Erlene pulled Lucius close for a moment.

"Don't look now, dear, but I think Junior just peeked into the ballroom," Lucius said, turning her so she could spot her ghostly offspring sneaking a peek from the main door.

Erlene nodded. "Well, that means that Judith has finally nodded off. Junior can't resist checking in on Julie. I think he blames himself for what happened to her after he died."

"He shouldn't, and neither should you," Lucius said firmly. "And if everything goes well, you'll be getting him back by the beginning of next month."

"It's going to be strange having a set of twins who are three and a half years apart in age," Erlene said, as she spotted Narcissa crossing the dance floor with grim determination. "Lucius, keep me in line so I can hit someone leaving with my wand."

"Do I wish to know who has angered my wives?" Lucius asked, changing the pattern of their dance slightly to accomplish Erlene's wishes.

"I think that Narcissa is about to tell Dolores Umbridge never to darken our doorstep again," Erlene said, letting her wand slide out from its sleeve in her dress robes. "I will want to watch the memory later, from multiple points of view."

Erlene admired how Lucius kept his dance with her even, not missing a step, as she heard Narcissa coldly tell Umbridge that she would never be welcome at Malfoy Manor, or even in the sight of any Malfoy, again. Then out of the corner of her eye, she caught Umbridge getting splashed with punch by Pansy Parkinson on her way out. She would have to do something for that girl.

Erlene shifted her arm just a little bit as Umbridge reached the door, and transfigured the woman's clothes into sack cloth. Even Umbridge's undergarments and shoes were now the same fabric as Erlene had once seen her twins race in at a school fun day. Umbridge looked back into the ballroom, and Erlene let her wand fall back into its holster as she waved her hand at the Undersecretary, making sure it was understood that Erlene was just as upset with Umbridge.

Erlene had an excellent view of Junior tripping her, before the door closed. Lucius resumed his usual pattern, as a faster waltz began. "By the way, Lucius, while I'm going to be a bit occupied for a while with Junior's rebirth, I understand that Narcissa has recently rekindled her desire for a little girl. It would be a shame for you to disappoint my sister wife."

"It would," Lucius said, whispering in Erlene's ear. "I'd hate to disappoint either of you."

* * *

"I could have danced all night." Julie sang as Erlene escorted her second daughter into her bedroom.

"Please, Julie, don't get that tune stuck in my head," Erlene pleaded. "It's after three now."

"I don't agree now," Julie shot back.

"You ought to be in bed," Erlene ordered her daughter. "And unlike Eliza, I can strip and put you in bed with a few waves of my wand. Don't think I won't do it either. We're in the wizarding world now."

"Okay, mum," Julie said, turning around. "Unbutton me? Remind me to thank Draco for getting me a dancing partner."

"I will," Erlene said. "I expect him to go right to bed, as well, after he finishes his hosting duties with the younger set, but I wouldn't be surprised if he looks in on you before he does."

"He's done it every night I've been here," Julie said, as Erlene finished unbuttoning her. "I'm glad he taught me to dance. It would have been so boring standing around the sides like Victoria did a lot."

"I imagine that Victoria needed to sit down every once in a while," Erlene said, as her daughter pulled the dress over her head. "Being pregnant doesn't help you stand or dance a long time."

"Yes, but I didn't have to sit down," Julie said, kicking off her shoes. "I danced with Harry Potter! Victoria said he was some sort of famous person, but he didn't really act like he was. He told me he was in his first year, and likes treacle tart like I do! He was missing his friend Hermione. He wondered if she had as a nice as dress as I did. His friend Ron Weasley apparently plays chess as well as Judith does, maybe better!"

"At least one of Arthur's children would have to," Erlene said, sliding a night shirt over Julie's head. "He was the one I beat the last time I won the Ministry's Chess tournament."

"Maybe he can teach Draco to play good enough to make him a challenge for Judith," Julie said. "Someone other than you has to be able to beat her, and I'm not it."

"I understand dear," Erlene said, holding open the covers on Julie's bed so she could climb under them. "But now it's time to sleep."

Julie climbed into bed, and Erlene pulled the covers up, tucking her in. Julie yawned big before closing her eyes, and as Erlene exited the room she could hear Julie softly humming the tune that had already infected her. Erlene couldn't help repeating the words as she headed to the room that she shared with Lucius and Narcissa.

"I'll never know what made it so exciting  
Why all at once my heart took flight  
I only know when he began to dance with me  
I could have danced, danced, danced, all night."

* * *

_This chapter contains parts of one song from the musical _My Fair Lady._ It is used in pieces, not in its entirety. _


	11. This like glory is to be

_**Author's Note**__: And thus a story comes to the end._

* * *

**Epilogue: **This like thy glory ... is to be

Professor Severus Snape found himself alone in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express at the end of the Yule Break. He knew that he'd be joined by Minerva, and he might have to pull one or more of his Slytherins into the compartment at some point in the journey. For the moment, though, he was enjoying the solitude with the latest journal, delivered just a few hours ago.

"Professor Snape."

Snape looked up to discover that he had forgotten to close the door on the compartment, or at least latch it tight. Draco Malfoy was standing in the door way. "Yes, Mister Malfoy?"

"You know that Dad brought his first wife and family home to the manor over Yule," Draco began.

"I am aware of recent events involving your family," Snape interrupted. He found Draco's use of the term Dad to be a bit surprising. His godson had been using Father for quite some time.

"Well, I've got an older sister now, a bunch of sisters and brothers actually," Draco said. "And well, Victoria took me aside and explained how I'd been acting like a spoiled brat at Hogwarts. I know she was right, and I need to apologize for my behavior, especially to you as my Head of House and Godfather. I'm going to try to act better this term."

"See that you do, Mister Malfoy," Snape said firmly. "I expect good things from you. You are the most promising Slytherin of your year. Live up to the ideals of our house."

"Yes sir," Draco replied, starting to turn away. Then he turned back. "Do Vince and Greg still need a tutor?"

"Are you volunteering?" Snape said with a note of surprise. He remembered how Draco had refused to take the hints during the Autumn term.

"Well, I heard from Potter how the Gryffindors were doing things at the Ball, and I was thinking that we could do something like they are," Malfoy said. "Let the best of us help the rest of us. I'm good at Potions and Defense, and Pansy has her Charms really down. And you might not notice it, but Theo is really good at Transfiguration. I'm not sure about who's the best in the rest, but I'm going to find out."

"I see," Snape said. His own year had done something similar, but no year since, despite his hints during the past decade. It wasn't something you could force, any good Slytherin knew you had to have the ambition to both mentor and study under a mentor. "And what do you need from me?"

"Well, the Gryffindors have a study room off their Common Room," Draco said. "I think we need some space too."

"I shall see to it," Snape said. "And perhaps you can solve a mystery that the staff has been wondering. Did Potter tell you why the Gryffindors started their group?"

"I'm not totally sure, but apparently Granger got mad at something that Brocklehurst, Li, and Turpin said," Draco replied. "They don't want a single raven in the top ten."

"I see," Snape said. Snape spent a minute's silence spent examining his godson's sincerity, stopping just short of reading his mind. He found no fault. "Then I shall expect the same from my Slytherins as Miss Granger is encouraging the Gryffindors. Remove Ravenclaw from the top ten. I expect cunning, intelligence, and leadership from you in this effort. Do not disappoint me."

"Yes sir!" Draco said, somehow conveying a salute along with the two words. And then the first year was gone.

With a wave of his hand, Snape closed the door to the compartment. Minerva would probably arrive at the last minute, and meanwhile, he had a journal article about Wolfsbane to finish reading. He wondered if the Headmaster would spring for the necessary ingredients for his sixth year NEWT class to try it. It looked like a perfect practical exam for the Winter Term.

* * *

_**Final Author's Note**__: Thus completes my tale of what changed the Malfoy family in _Ritually Yours_, or at least started the journey_._ If you took a break from that story after "End of December" to read this story, you may resume with "January." _

_There will be another Slytherin Story Line to cover the time from January to June from their point of view. It, however, is not a priority. I really want to get _Summer Rituals_ done, and there are several other stories which many people, including my muse are driving me to finish. That being said, if another story doesn't complete a chapter by this time next week, you may get the prologue to this story's sequel, _By Hephaestus Forge_, next week._


End file.
